Quid Pro Quo
by Meta Bunny
Summary: Gajeel and Lucy have been having trouble with both their love life and sex life. Seeing as they are both in the same proverbial boat, they end up helping each other out for what was meant to be one night. But what started as a one-night stand turns Gajeel and Lucy into friends with benefits, and then into something more... Rated M for obvious reasons.
1. Night of Lust

This was probably the worst date of Lucy's life. She thought that she found this suave gentleman that was finally her 'Mr Right', the Prince Charming that swept her off her feet like in one of her romance novels.

However, instead she just got a snobbish pig. Although she has only herself blame, after all his gentlemanly attitude was obviously as fake as his exaggerated aristocratic accent that you only saw in the comedy plays. Lucy _was_ a part of the Heartfilia Konzern, she had met many people of _real_ aristocratic heritage and bloodlines, so she should of recognised him as a snob from a mile away.

And yet here she was, on the worst date of her life with this guy. Maybe it's because he also has blond hair and brown eyes...

Oy vey, she must be really desperate to stoop _this_ low. She blamed it on Magnolia and Fairy Tail; her giuld just _had_ to be located in a town where the only suitable gentlemen are either in a relationship or marriage, are gay, or are both. Meanwhile, all the single men are just not the boyfriend material she's looking for.

That didn't mean that every possible boyfriend was horrible, some may have been the scum of the world and she would rather jump off a cliff into a pit of rusty nails and have a huge 1000 ton metal cube crush her after she's done writhing in pain then even consider dating them again, but others weren't so bad; either they just agreed to never date again while holding no feelings of resentment towards each other, and other times she and her date decided they would be better off as friends than lovers.

She couldn't remember when or how exactly she met her current date, probably because she's trying to completely repress the memory of this guy completely, all that she knew was that they agreed to meet at the park in two in the afternoon.

It first showed promise of being a good date, but he kept on peeking at other woman that passed by, and it was obvious that he was perving on them and enjoying it. When Lucy tried to make conversation with him (because that's something you do on dates, right?), it became apparent that he had a huge ego; the only subjects that he showed interest in were about himself and he would show interest in no other subjects.

Magic? Uninterested. Books? Literally yawned at the thought. Fashion? Rather not. Himself? Non-stop blabbering, he didn't even give her a chance to say anything.

Lucy's mind must have been turned off, because despite how downhill the date was going, she was still willing to continue it.

Anyways, she and her date agreed to have dinner at a weird mixture of a pub and a restaurant and it showed promise (albeit, the faintest) of this being a somewhat okay-ish date until the waitress (for lack of a better word) showed up.

She was a woman with a hot body that perverts would love; fine legs, big breasts, firm butt, the usual turn-on for males. It wasn't helped that she was wearing thigh-high fishnet stockings (honest to God), a ridiculously short skirt that barely reached the top of her stockings, and a ridiculously low-cut top that showed her cleavage from basically every angle except from the back.

And of course her date, William, was instantly drooling over her with heart eyes as soon as she appeared.

"Okay, what do you want?!" the waitress asked rudely, giving Lucy a scornful grimace for basically just being another female. Just keep calm Lucy, do _not_ murder this woman.

"I would like the chicken salad, please." Lucy answered politely.

"Mm-hmm." the waitress hummed in acknowledgment half-heartedly. "Now then," she suddenly said, deepening her voice to sound seductive, leaning towards Lucy's date to show off even more cleavage than usual. "What would _you_ like, Hot Stuff?"

Lucy was appalled; sure she wanted this date to be over and forgotten with a bottle of alcohol, but that didn't mean she was okay with someone flirting with her obvious date.

"I was thinking of having _you_ right now, but dinner comes before desert." William replied, obviously flirting back like Lucy didn't exist. And what did he mean by dinner? Lucy's first thought was that he meant as in food, but the fact that he referred to the waitress as 'desert' made it feel like she was the 'dinner'. Crap, she's dating a playboy.

Or maybe he's a cannibal and is meaning it in a more literal sense... Lucy doesn't know which one is better or worse.

"Oh _myyyyyy...!_ " the waitress responded, putting the hand that was furthest from William behind her head while offering the hand that was closest to him... well, to him, for a kiss. "And who are you, you dashing romantic?"

"William Birkhound." he answered, planting a kiss on her knuckle. William looked at the waitress in the eyes with his same fake suaveness. "It is a real _pleasure_ to meet you, Miss...?"

"Britney." the waitress, Britney, answered. "Britney Burshetto. And when you're done with this bimbo, you can come to my place with 500 Jewel and I'll show you what _real_ pleasure looks like."

"Oh..." William replied huskily, clutching Britney's butt as he pulled her down to make her sit on his lap, which she was all to okay with. "I look forward to being pleasured by a _real_ woman like you."

"Hey!" Lucy yelled, offended. "I'm right here!"

"Oh be quiet, _Bimbo_." Britney responded rudely, glaring at Lucy with gratuitous scorn.

Lucy was officially in the mood to deck a bitch; not because she was trying to take her date, no she would actually appreciate that, but because she acts like a whore and then has the proverbial balls to call _her_ a freaking _bimbo_?! Lucy has gotten used to being called a bimbo by others, sometimes even her own friends in a fit of emotion, but being called that by someone like this was driving her patience to its limit.

Lucy had abruptly gotten up from her seat, which caught the attention of William.

"Where are you going, Hon?" William asked, although there was very little emotion or care in his voice.

"Away from this date." Lucy answered, not even taking so much as a glance back at William, the lack of emotion in his voice was a big enough hint towards Lucy that he didn't really care about where the blonde was going. "I can see that you and Britney are much more compatible than you and I, so I'm much better off _not_ being here."

And with that, Lucy left the building, finally bringing an end to the accursed date. Not that William genuinely cared, of course.

* * *

The first thing that Lucy did when she kicked open the doors of the Fairy Tail guild (a sure sign to the other members that the Celestial Spirit mage was mad and it was best to be careful around her to not suffer her wrath) was to go to the bar and slam her face down on it, letting out a long, loud groan of anger. The only thing that was remotely good that came from that date was when she walked out of it.

Mirajane Strauss hummed softly as she put a strawberry milkshake on the bar, next to Lucy's head. The S-Class mage turned barmaid continued her humming as she stroked the angry blonde's head to calm her down. "I take it that your date didn't go so well."

The busty Celestial Spirit mage moved her head up to make eye contact with the white-haired. "Mira, I'm just gonna say what needs to be said: Men. Suck."

"Oh you don't mean that." Mirajane said as she patted Lucy on the head, once again to calm her down. "You're just saying that because you have yet to find the perfect man, I know you'll find your soulmate someday."

Lucy sighed, wrapping her lips around the end of the straw outside of the strawberry milkshake as she drank the aforementioned drink. "Thanks Mira." Lucy said after taking her sip of her milkshake. The Celestial Spirit mage then sighed in annoyance again as she put her face in her palms. "I swear I'm cursed; everyone around me is in a happy relationship while all my dates are 'We're better off being just friends' at best."

"And the dates that are at worst?"

"...They're the ones that I don't even try to defend from my protective older brothers' wrath." Lucy answered, taking another suck of her straw to drink more of her milkshake before making another annoyed sigh (she didn't doubt that it would even be the last). "Even my best dates as of late haven't really sufficed me romantically or..."

Lucy went silent, a blush appearing on her face. "Or...?" Mirajane pried, intrigued. Lucy mumbled something, her voice so quiet that you would need superhuman hearing to hear her, and only if you were near her. "Sorry, didn't quite hear that. Could you please say that again." Lucy mumbled the same thing, only slightly louder. "C'mon Lucy, you can tell me, we're family."

"Sexually...!" Lucy answered.

"Wait, wha-?"

"NONE OF MY DATES OF LATE HAVE SUFFICED ME SEXUALLY, OKAY?!" Lucy shouted, her outburst having easily been heard by everyone else in the guild. Lucy went wide-eyed upon realization of her action, the blonde now slamming her face down onto the bar in embarrassment. "Sorry about that, Mira."

The Take Over mage smiled softly at her friend, about to say something of Lucy's dilemma being relatable, but was interrupted before she could speak.

"Ah, so Bunny Girl has been all hot 'n horny 'n no one can please her. Gihihihihihi."

"AH!" Lucy screamed, having been shocked by the sudden gravelly voice that spoke into her ear. After her heart stopped beating in her ears, Lucy looked at the source of the voice. Unsurprisingly, the voice came from Gajeel Redfox, who had a shit-eating grin as he sat on the stool next to Lucy. The aforementioned blonde was still angry nevertheless. "Gajeel, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Gihihihihihihi...!"

Lucy made a loud, guttural sound in her throat before taking another sip from her milkshake to calm her nerves. All while Lucy drank the pink liquid down her throat, the Iron Dragon Slayer kept looking at her with the same shit-eating grin which looked really weird on his usually frowny face. The pink potion's effects finally kicked in as Lucy drank it until nothing remained, the aforementioned blonde now feeling better.

"Yes, Gajeel," Lucy replied calmly, facing the red-eyed male. "none of my dates are able to sexually satisfy me."

The black-haired laughed loudly as his hand grabbed his forehead, the Dragon Slayer having to stop laughing to regain his breath shortly thereafter. "Now I know you're a Bunny, 'cause only bunnies are sexually hungry."

"Oh, so _that's_ why you call me 'Bunny Girl', isn't it?" Lucy asked, quickly thanking Mirajane as the Take Over mage placed another strawberry milkshake near her before facing towards Gajeel again. "Because you think I'm 'sexually hungry'? By the way, it's not being 'sexually hungry', it's just being unsatisfied when none of your dates for the last three months have even made it to second base."

"There are many reasons why I call ya 'Bunny Girl', Bunny Girl." Gajeel responded. Mirajane placed a mug of molten iron (the mug had obviously been magically enchanted to withstand the melted metal, as well as enchanted to not give off any heat because the iron was... well, _molten_ ) on the counter next to Gajeel, the aforementioned Dragon Slayer happily taking a swig of his molten iron. "I can just add this new information to the list of reasons."

"Greeeeeat, you got a list." Lucy said sarcastically.

"Gihihihihihi."

"So how bad was your date, Lucy?" Mirajane asked, the barmaid leaning on the counter.

"Long story short, I was dating a snobbish playboy." Lucy answered, sighing sadly as she twiddled the straw around her strawberry milkshake by pressing the pad of her index finger against the end that you usually suck on. "You know what? I think I'm just gonna quit the whole dating thing."

"What?!" Mirajane shrieked, slamming her hands down on the bar counter without really realising it, easily gaining the attention of everyone else in the guild. "Lucy... I know your dates as of late have been bad, but you can't just quit on finding true love, I know there _is_ someone out there for you!"

"Relax, Mira, I'm just quitting dating _temporarily_." Lucy explained, sweat-dropping at her friend's little outburst. "What I really mean is that I'm just gonna put dating on hold for a while; a few days or weeks, maybe even two or three months... I'm just gonna give it a while before I start looking for my true love again."

"Oh..." Mirajane said, her mouth making an O-shaped circle as she said so.

"Until then," Lucy said, stretching her arms behind herself. "I think I'll find someone to give me a good time. Nothing special, just someone to satisfy my natural sexual needs."

"I'm surprised that you're so casual about this, Bunny." Gajeel said, actual surprise in his voice, before taking another drink of his molten iron. "I mean, you're such a prude an' all, I thought you'd pass out just from the thought of sayin' it."

"Well I've been having a horrible love life and sex life for a while, so sorry if I'm just looking for a good time." Lucy replied sarcastically, giving Gajeel the stink eye.

"Actually, I quite like this side of ya." Gajeel responded, a huge grin on his face that showed off his sharp canines. "Like I said, you're such a big prude an' all, so it's quite interestin' seeing this side of ya."

"Whatever." Lucy said, resting her head on one of her hands while the elbow connected to the arm connected to the hand had rested on the bar counter. "Now all I need is to find someone who's willing to have sex with me."

Gajeel snorted in amusement. "That shouldn't be hard."

"What is _that_ suppose to mean?" Lucy asked, giving the Iron Dragon Slayer a small glare. "Because if you're implying that I'm some sort of slut, then you-!"

"I'm not implying that you're a slut, Bunny; although the way you like to dress kinda says otherwise. Not that I mind, Gihihihihihi." Gajeel said, unintimidated by Lucy's glare... at least on the outside. "I'm just sayin' that your body... well look at yourself; your like the human incarnation of sexiness itself. An' like I said, the way you dress doesn't hide your body. It shouldn't be hard findin' a guy who wants to fuck ya."

"I guess you're right there, some of my dates even dated me purely for my body." Lucy responded. "Although I would much rather eat barbed wire than have sex with them. In fact, I would much rather eat _rusty_ barbed wire than have sex with _those_ dates."

"Wow, if your love life is _that_ bad then you really are cursed." Gajeel said, snickering as he thought about it. "Did ya piss off a witch who decided to give ya the worst love life in revenge?"

"As far as I'm sure, no." Lucy answered, taking another drink of her milkshake. "I just hope I have better luck with my sex life than love life."

"So who do you think you will... you know what with?" Mirajane asked Lucy.

"I don't know." Lucy answered, looking into the empty air as she thought about any possible guy to satisfy her totally normal sexual desires. "I'm hopping for a guy who's single, has a nice body, good in bed and has a good libido."

"Oh really?" Gajeel said, having listened to Lucy's requirements of what she wants in a guy for her sex life. "Well then, your sex life is much luckier than yer love life, Bunny, 'cause I know a who has all the requirements and is completely okay with fucking ya."

"Who?" Lucy and Mirajane both asked.

Gajeel smirked before pointing towards himself with his thumb. "Me."

"What?!" Lucy and Mirajane reacted. "Why do _you_ want to help me with my sex life?" Lucy added with a question.

"I already told ya that you're like the human incarnation of sexiness itself with that body of yours, so I am interested." Gajeel answered, taking a quick drink of his molten iron. "An' luckily for ya, I have an amazin' bod, I'm awesome in bed, my libido is far more than good, and my love life... you already know 'bout that."

Lucy did already know about that, hell the entire guild already knows about that. A couple of months ago, Gajeel and Levy started dating; at first both the Dragon Slayer and Solid Script mage couldn't be happier with each other, but as time went by the spark between them started to dwindle. After four months, both Gajeel and Levy started to feel awkward being boyfriend and girlfriend since they didn't love each other anymore.

They confronted each other about the lost spark, and they broke up. Despite once being in love and breaking up, Gajeel and Levy remained as good friends, so there was no bad blood and nothing awkward between the two, even when Levy got a new boyfriend.

It was bittersweet to Lucy; on one hand, Lucy was sad that a relationship that she and the entire guild thought would last had ended in a break-up. But on the other hand, the blonde was happy that, from what she saw and heard from Levy and her other guild mates, Gajeel and Levy were still close friends and were willing to fight and risk their lives for each other.

Gajeel didn't even hold any bad blood towards Levy's new boyfriend, he just hoped that he would be a better boyfriend towards the blue-haired Solid Script mage than the Dragon Slayer was.

"Hello? Earth Land to Bunny Girl. Yoo-hoo." Gajeel said, waving his hand up and down in front of Lucy's face as she went off into a daze. Lucy suddenly blinked a couple of times as she tried to get back in touch with reality, taken by surprise when she got caught up in reminiscence of Gajeel and Levy's past relationship. "Geez, Salamander's right you are a weirdo."

"Well that's good persuasion to get me in your pants." Lucy retorted sarcastically, giving the Iron Dragon Slayer a little scowl.

"Aside from my love life which has been nothin' but going downhill since Shrimp an' I lost our original spark, I haven't been sexually pleased in a long time either." Gajeel continued like Lucy made no reaction to his 'weirdo' comment, taking a pause as he looked at the empty air as he thought about something before giving Lucy a rather crude, wide, teeth-showing smile. "Unless if you count Mrs Right Hand, in which where I have been pleased last night."

"Too much information!" Lucy shouted, putting her hands up, disgusted; whenever she was going to have sex with Gajeel or not, she preferred to _not_ hear about his masturbation stories. God, she really is a prude. Then again, Mira was looking a little green in the face herself, so she wasn't the only one who didn't want to hear it.

"Gihihihihihi~!" Gajeel laughed, finding amusement in Bunny Girl's reaction. "In all seriousness though, I haven't really had a good fuckin' in, say, about three months, which really hasn't helped with my libido. You can just think of this as... quid pro quo."

"Quid pro quo, huh?" Lucy asked. "So in return for giving me a good night of sex, I give you...?"

"Depends." Gajeel said, the Iron Dragon Slayer taking a drink from his refilled mug of molten iron as he was thinking (or at least looked like he was thinking). "If you're as good in bed as your body suggests, then the sex we have should be the repay. But if the time I have isn't as good as I expect then... I'll have to think of another way that you could repay me."

Lucy closed her eyes as she hummed, thinking about what conclusion she would come to. Gajeel watched the blonde bombshell as she pondered with closed eyes, said eyes opening a few seconds later as she came to her conclusion. "If my older brothers don't murder you or scare you away, come to my house by 10:30."

The blonde Celestial Spirit mage drank the rest of her strawberry milkshake, thanking Mirajane for the aforementioned milkshake before getting off the barstool and leaving the guild to go back home. After Lucy left the guild to go home, Gajeel could hear two other people approaching him from behind, no doubt Bunny Girl's two 'older brothers'.

Laxus and Freed sat next to Gajeel, the former sitting by his right while the latter sat by his left.

"So, you want to screw our little sister, huh?" Laxus growled threateningly, looking at the mug in his hand instead of at the Iron Dragon Slayer he was talking to, small electrical sparks surrounding his body. "Do you really think that you can just do that because you're in Fairy Tail...?!"

Before Gajeel could make a response of any kind, Freed began to talk. "Now, now, Laxus, Gajeel is our guild mate so I'm certain that he understands the do's and many don'ts of that come with any romantic or sexual interaction with our little sister." Freed said calmly. The rune mage moved the bang covering his right eye, revealing that it had taken a dark colour, a result of his Dark Écriture Magic activating. "Don't you, Gajeel?"

Some explanation is needed. A few months ago, Laxus and Lucy had developed a relationship that was akin to a bigger brother and younger sister, seemingly while the guild wasn't looking.

It was first believed that Laxus' and Lucy's feelings towards each other was more than platonic, but then it was revealed that Laxus was gay and had been Freed's boyfriend for a while now. It didn't change that the Lightning Dragon Slayer had grown to be highly protective of Lucy, as he still saw her as the little sister he never had.

Freed had also grown to be like an older brother towards Lucy; one day the Rune mage decided to approach the blonde about their shared love of books, in which where they immediately hit it off; with Freed even being allowed to test read any new pages of Lucy's novel (after Levy, of course).

Freed had also grown to be highly protective of Lucy, almost as much as Laxus. Because they're boyfriends, and because they both ended up becoming so protective of the Celestial Spirit mage, Laxus and Freed considered themselves as Lucy's 'older brothers'; something that they began to be known as because of their older brother-like relationships with the blonde.

Of course their protectiveness towards the blonde worsened her troubles with finding a decent man, since they were willing to attack those that tried to date their sister. Laxus was obviously scary, being as immensely powerful as a Wizard Saint made it a no-brainer that most men were too intimidated to date Lucy. Surprisingly though, it was Freed that was the scarier of the two; while he wasn't as overwhelmingly powerful as Laxus, his usage of his two rune-based magics, Jutsu Shiki and Dark Écriture, especially the latter magic, proved him to be capable of very sadistic effects towards those who try to do anything to his 'little sister'.

Not that Gajeel cared, he wouldn't have suggested having sex with Bunny Girl if he was afraid of the two mages.

The Iron Dragon Slayer merely made a little grunt before replying nonchalantly, "Yeah, I know the do's and don'ts. Not like I'm planning on anything more than a night of fun with your 'little sister'."

"I don't like the way you said that...!" Laxus growled, looking at the Iron Dragon Slayer through the corners of his eyes, the small electrical sparks surrounding his body intensifying for a millisecond.

"Sheesh, don't get your male panties in a twist." Gajeel responded, still nonchalant. "I'm just pleasing your little sister in the way that she needs, nothin' else to it."

"That is not an acceptable response either." Freed said, his right eye still glowing from Dark Écriture Magic as he started glaring at Gajeel. "This is only a warning, just because you are a member of our guild doesn't mean that you can escape our wrath if you hurt our little sister in any way."

Gajeel grunted in response, Freed just made a light sigh before getting off his barstool.

"Where are you going, Freed?" Laxus asked his boyfriend as he started to leave. Freed gestured Laxus to come with him, the Lightning Dragon Slayer doing so.

"Doing our job as older brothers, i.e. showing a certain William Birkhound the consequences for his actions." Freed answered, the rune mage then grabbing Laxus' shoulder so he could whisper into his ear. "And after that, we can have a certain night of fun together, just you and me."

Laxus' eyes widened as he blushed before smiling widely, as both Lucy's protective older brother and Freed's boyfriend both thoughts appealed to him.

Gajeel just let out a sigh as the two men left, drinking what was left of his molten iron before getting off his barstool and leaving the guild; the Iron Dragon Slayer had other things to do and it wasn't just Lucy.

* * *

Gajeel grunted as he lifted the large, magically enchanted weights; the Dragon Slayer was doing bench-presses. Despite his magic being one that naturally grows stronger over time, Gajeel still sought to train himself to grow stronger. This wasn't limited to the normal training but also exercises, such as lifting weights. Shortly after Gajeel 'bought' a house around the borders of Magnolia after joining Fairy Tail, he turned the basement into a personal gym.

This gym included dumbbells, barbells, and many of the other equipment used in a gym. For almost the last hour Gajeel had done a monster workout, the Dragon Slayer shirtless and covered in his own sweat.

"...nine-hundred and ninety-seven...nine-hundred and ninety-eight...nine-hundred and ninety-nine...one thousand...!" Gajeel grunted, dropping the large dumbbells to his sides. The weights that Gajeel lifted were of course made out of iron, so he had to get a rune mage to enchant them to make them immune to his magic so that he doesn't end up eating them.

The Iron Dragon Slayer took deep breaths, his entire body aching and sore from his workout. Gajeel didn't doubt that if he wasn't a Dragon Slayer he wouldn't be able to walk with the workout he gave himself. He probably wouldn't even be able to do the workout in general.

Gajeel grabbed a nearby towel, wiping the sweat off of his body with the cloth. As he was drying the sweat off his pecs, Gajeel's nose caught a foul stench. Gajeel sniffed at his bicep, instantly facing away with a cringed face as he realised the odour was from him, then again considering his workout it was to be expected.

Gajeel made his way from the basement to the living room to upstairs where the bathroom is; stripping out of all of his clothing and throwing it into the laundry hamper - which Lily bought because of Gajeel's so-called 'dirty habits' - because it was all drenched in his stinky sweat, Gajeel entered the shower and closed its door. The Iron Dragon Slayer turned on the hot water, a murmur-like sound coming from his throat as the hot liquid pelted against his muscular body.

As Gajeel scrubbed himself with soap, his mind went to the Celestial Spirit mage that he was going to make love with soon. Gajeel would admit that he found her body to be attractive even back in his Phantom Lord days, once again not helped by the clothing (or lack thereof) that she wore.

Gajeel felt his penis twitch as he remembered all the moments that Lucy was either scantily clad or outright naked in front of him (or viewable for him) because of one reason or another. Gajeel rubbed his fingers against his hardening member slightly, but stopped; if he pleasured himself in the shower (something that wasn't all too new to him) then he wouldn't be able to feel if Bunny is as good in bed as he expected.

Gajeel washed all of the soap of him and turned off the shower, drying himself off with a towel (not the one he used to dry off his sweat from his workout). With a towel wrapped around his waist and covering his junk (because if he didn't then Lily would yell at him about his lack of decency), Gajeel made his way to his room and dressed into a new pair of clothing.

New pair in the sense that they weren't the clothes he wore earlier, they were just another pair of his regular attire.

Gajeel looked at himself in the mirror he had in his room, a wide, teeth-showing grin on his face as he flew one of his biceps. " _One day... one day I'll be strong enough to kick Salamander's, Titania's and Thunder Breath's asses at the same time, gihihihihi._ " Gajeel thought, his competitive side emerging within him. " _Then I'll show 'em who Fairy Tail's real strongest is._ "

Gajeel laughed to himself as he started to leave his home. "Yo, Lily!" Gajeel yelled as he started to exit from the front door.

"Yef, Gafeel?" Panther Lily responded, shoving an entire kiwi (peel an' all) in his mouth.

"I'll be goin' out and I probably won't be back till tomorrow." Gajeel answered, heading outside. "Don't burn down the house while I'm gone."

Lily smirked. "I'm the mature one in this relationship, unlike you I don't burn down the house while cooking." The Exceed responded, eating another kiwi whole. Gajeel rolled his eyes at Lily's comment but nevertheless waved goodbye to his cat. Gajeel shut the door to his house behind him, the Iron Dragon Slayer immediately making a jog for Lucy's house, a grin on his face for the fun soon to come.

* * *

Lucy hummed as she wrote down the latest paragraphs of her new novel, the only other sound in her empty house being the ticking of her clock.

The blonde heard a hard knock on her front door, the person behind it being a no-brainer. Putting her pen down and tucking her chair in her desk, Lucy made her way downstairs and opened her front door.

Lucy smiled upon seeing the Iron Dragon Slayer. "You're a little early, not that I mind." Lucy said as she let Gajeel into her house.

Gajeel smirked in response to the blonde. "Not my fault your body is irresistible." Gajeel said.

Lucy snorted in amusement. "Gee, you're really trying to get in my pants." Lucy quipped, taking a quick peep at Gajeel's butt as he passed by her, the blonde licking her lips as her lust arose from within. How Gajeel didn't notice was beyond Lucy. "Is your tiny dragon downstairs the one in charge, Metal Face?"

Gajeel snorted, much like Lucy did earlier ago. "My dragon is anything _but_ tiny, Bunny McGigaBoobies." Gajeel responded, ogling at Lucy's boobs. The black-haired Dragon Slayer's pants became tighter as his member swelled, how Bunny Girl could stand up straight with jugs that huge was a mystery to the man. "My dragon is huge, maybe even too huge for you to handle."

"We'll see about that, Iron Breath." Lucy snickered. "So how's about we stop the banter and get onto the sex?"

Gajeel made a wide, toothy grin at her words; Lucy rubbed her legs against each other as the space between them heated up, the blonde finding Gajeel's face to be strangely sexy. "I'd quite like that, Bunny." Gajeel responded, the Dragon Slayer following Lucy as she started walking upstairs to her bedroom. "And I quite like this side of ya that I've never seen before."

"This is the side of me when I'm in heat." Lucy said in a joking tone.

"Definitely a bunny, for sure." Gajeel snickered under his breath. Lucy opened the door to her bedroom, the room being no different to the other times Gajeel saw it. As soon as they entered Gajeel pulled Lucy close to him and claimed her lips, fixing the bottom of the pair into his mouth and sucking on it; Lucy moaned into the kiss, releasing a smell as her lust and arousal began to rise; the aforementioned smell going noticed by Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer moaning as it made his penis swell.

The scent of Lucy's arousal only became stronger as Gajeel's hardened member pressed against her legs and pelvis, the Dragon Slayer abandoning Lucy's lips and putting his tongue into the blonde's mouth, something that she allowed him entry to.

Gajeel's hand pressed against the back of Lucy's head as he brought the Celestial Spirit mage even deeper into the kiss, the combined scent of their arousal and lust becoming thick in Lucy's bedroom. Gajeel ripped off the jean shorts that Lucy wore, the torn fabric laying on the ground like an abandoned dishcloth. Lucy's hands made their way to Gajeel's shirt, unbuttoning it and pulling it off.

Her mind already taken over by lust, Lucy was marvelled by the sight of Gajeel's ripped physique; her hands rubbing against his massive pecs. Gajeel moaned loudly as Lucy's touch sent waves of pleasure throughout his body, his cock growing harder and more erect with each wave.

" _Holy fuck it's like these things are trying to suffocate my cock!_ " Gajeel thought before taking off his pants, a sigh of relief exiting his mouth as his boxers were more roomy that the loose wear. Lucy's eyes were wide with hunger as she saw the bulge in Gajeel's boxers; calling it a tent would be an understatement, it was more like a monster.

Gajeel's red eyes honed on Lucy as her arousal was becoming impossible to ignore. Without warning, Gajeel grabbed hold of Lucy's tank top and ripped it off, the blue fabric joining the jeans on the floor, both no longer being possible for Lucy to wear anymore. Gajeel licked his lips at the sight of Lucy as she was left in nothing more than a lace bra and panties, although he knew that he won't be satisfied until she's wearing absolutely nothing and underneath him on the bed.

"Are you going to rip off _all_ my clothing?" Lucy asked, annoyance clear in her voice. Gajeel growled lowly as the arousing smell of Lucy's lust began to fade, the Iron Dragon Slayer wasn't going to let the mood die before the _real_ excitement began.

"Take off your bra and panties." Gajeel ordered, his eyes becoming more slit. There was something about how hot-blooded he was becoming because of the blonde that awakened his dragon instincts. "Now! Or else I'll tear them off!"

Knowing that he definitely wasn't bluffing, Lucy removed her undergarments from her body, the articles falling to the ground unscathed. Gajeel's mouth was on the verge of watering at the sight of Lucy's naked breasts, her hard, erect nipples making his blood even hotter than before. Lucy noticed the bulge in Gajeel's boxers tightening against the fabric that contained them, a wet patch forming on the black fabric.

Lucy reached for Gajeel's boxers, the buxom lady pulling them down to his feet, letting the Dragon Slayer's large manhood fling out. Lucy's eyes went wide as she saw how huge Gajeel's cock was: 6.2 inches long, much more endowed than the average man, and thick. Among each inch was a simple, round stud, like the ones on his face and arms.

Lucy lowered down to her knees and wrapped the black-haired man's large member in her fingers. Gajeel moaned in sexual pleasure as Lucy kissed the tip of his cock and licked off the precum as it leaked out. Lucy squeezed and shook Gajeel's member, the Iron Dragon Slayer moaning in pleasure as the seemingly innocent Lucy Heartfilia gave him a hand-job. Completely of her own accord.

Lucy hungrily licked her lips as she held Gajeel's dick in her hands, her newfound hunger not being helped by the man's deep moans. "Let's see if you're as... tasty as expected." Lucy said, looking up at Gajeel and giving him a dirty, brazen smile. Gajeel stared down at Lucy in complete surprise, never knowing that she could have a side like this. It both surprised and enticed him, and his instincts were going crazy of this new personality of one of the biggest prudes on the continent.

A wide grin appeared on Gajeel's face, not only was he excited by this part of the blonde but he knew that he would have enough energy and semen left after her little blowjob that he'll still be able to intercourse her.

"Well? What're ya waitin' for, Bunny?" Gajeel said, moaning again as Lucy gave him another squeeze. "If you got a craving, then suck. There'll be plenty left afterwards."

Lucy gave a wide smile, the blonde bombshell putting Gajeel's hard and huge member into her mouth and sucking. Gajeel let out the deepest moan he had ever had in his entire life as the blonde squeezed his member inside her mouth, sucking up his semen like she was on the verge of starvation. Gajeel leaned his head back as his eyes rolled into the back of his skull as Lucy increased her speed while miraculously fitting more and more of his shaft into mouth until she was nose-deep into the black bush of Gajeel's pubic hair.

Gajeel's loins were on fire as Lucy continued to squeeze him inside of her mouth, her tongue rubbing his large member. Gajeel clenched his mouth shut as the heat spread to the rest of his body, the Dragon Slayer was on the verge of his orgasm.

"Bunny...!" Gajeel warned, causing Lucy to stop and look up at him. Gajeel had one eye open halfway while the other was closed, his voice and breathing husky through his bared teeth, sweat on his muscular form as he could only stop himself from climaxing for a few more seconds. A strong whiff of Lucy's arousal hit Gajeel as Lucy looked at the rise and full of Gajeel's chest as he breathed heavily, making it harder for the Dragon Slayer to not cum at the instant. "Bunny, I'm gonna cum!"

Lucy pulled Gajeel's penis out of her mouth, the outside of his penis and the inside of her mouth both covered in precum. "Do it, Gajeel, cum in my mouth." Lucy said before shoving Gajeel's member back into her mouth, sucking even harder than before. Gajeel let out a loud and throaty moan, it felt like his cock was going to explode!

"Fuck... Lucy!" Gajeel roared as he came into Lucy's mouth. Lucy let out a moan as streams of Gajeel's seed entered her mouth, the blonde swallowing the white ambrosia. "Oh fuck..." Gajeel said, loosing all feeling in his legs and falling down into Lucy's bed, taking deep breaths as small black spots were in his eyes.

"That was so good..." Lucy moaned as she sat on her knees, licking up the seed that was on her mouth when Gajeel's cock came out of her mouth. Lucy then noticed that Gajeel was lying down on her bed, the blonde getting up to approach the Dragon Slayer. "Are you alright, Gajeel?" Lucy asked, concerned.

Gajeel suddenly got back up and grabbed Lucy by the sides, slamming her onto her bed. "Now it's my turn, Bunny Rabbit." Gajeel purred as he pinned Lucy down, smiling at her seductively. Gajeel smelt Lucy's arousal come back with a vengeance, the man moving his face down to her aching core. Gajeel rubbed the rough pad of his index finger against the blonde's core, making Lucy moan as waves of pleasure rippled throughout her body.

Gajeel grinned at the sound of Lucy's moans. Gajeel added his middle finger, Lucy's moans increasing as Gajeel rubbed two of his rough fingers against her pussy, her back arching as the pleasure was like electrical shocks.

"Someone's needy." Gajeel said huskily, sliding his fingers in. Lucy's moans grew louder as those previous waves of pleasure grew tenfold.

"Oh God, Gajeel..." Lucy moaned breathlessly, her insides burning like Gajeel's when she was sucking his cock senselessly. "I need you... inside me... now!"

"Nuh-uh," Gajeel said, wagging the finger of his hand that wasn't in Lucy at the blonde, "I think you deserve your own medicine, Bunny. And this'll be fun for me."

Before Lucy could say anything else to her little one-night stand, Gajeel started thrusting his fingers in and out of her vagina. Lucy's filthy moans grew louder and louder. Gajeel could feel himself growing hard again as Lucy continued with those melodious moans of hers, his finger thrusts growing faster, the Iron Dragon Slayer adding another finger and rubbing the top of her clit with his thumb.

Lucy felt like she was on the brink of her release, her insides felt like they were on fire as her climax was coming. However Gajeel pulled out his fingers and didn't put them back in, much to Lucy's disappointment. Just as the blonde was going to glare at Gajeel, the black-haired man put his face to her vaginal area, licking her precum off her pussy. Lucy's loins felt like they were on fire, the woman was beginning to wonder how experienced Gajeel was in this.

Gajeel's tongue entered Lucy's pussy, licking up the insides while nibbling on it, the Dragon Slayer trying his best to ignore the smell with his advanced senses.

Lucy's breaths became shaky and her skin flushed, the woman coming closer and closer to her climax with each lick and each nibble that Gajeel gave her aching core. "Gajeel...!" Lucy moaned, legs spread apart to make room for Gajeel's head, the Iron Dragon Slayer holding her hips to keep her in place. Gajeel stopped licking and nibbling her core to look at her, his inner dragon purring at the sight of the red on her face. "I... I think I'm going to cum...!"

"Cum for me, Lucy." Gajeel said, surprising Lucy that he used her real name. "Cum in my mouth, say my name!"

"Ooooh... Gajeel!" Lucy screamed as she entered her climax, her juices flowing out of her pussy and into Gajeel's mouth, the Iron Dragon Slayer enjoying the taste.

"Mmm... tasty, like pure iron." Gajeel said as he licked the rest of Lucy's juices off his lips.

"So you're saying that my juices taste like metal, huh?" Lucy remarked, looking at Gajeel with a raised eyebrow and amused smirk, although her face still had that flush of red on it. "No wonders why most of those horrible dates that I had sex with skipped the foreplay."

"I didn't say that your juices _tasted_ like pure iron, I said they were _tasty_ like pure iron. Although it woulda been really good if they did taste like pure iron." Gajeel said, crawling over Lucy's body until he was on top of her. The Iron Dragon Slayer started sucking on the Celestial Spirit mage's neck, making her moan. Gajeel moved his hands over Lucy's breasts, massaging them, making both of them feel pleasure. Not wanting Gajeel to have all the fun in this foreplay, Lucy moved her head to suck on Gajeel's neck like a hungry vampire, although there was a red love bite on the area where Gajeel sucked; the right side of her neck.

Gajeel continued to massage Lucy's plump breasts, a moan escaping as Lucy started to bite the area she was sucking. Lucy began rubbing Gajeel's chest, making a growl rise in the man as his dragon instincts were starting to act up. Gajeel's red eyes focused on Lucy's love bite, a sudden feeling to bite deeply into the tasty-looking piece of flesh arising within him.

Lucy stopped sucking on Gajeel's neck. "Want to finally get to the intercourse?" Lucy purred seductively into Gajeel's ear, rubbing her legs against Gajeel's hard member. Gajeel snapped out of his trance, grinning at the blonde woman. Gajeel put one of Lucy's breasts in his mouth, the Iron Dragon Slayer sucking on it while massaging its twin.

Gajeel rubbed his member against the folds of Lucy's core, both wet from their precum made by the people attached to them. "Oh Gajeel... you're to much...!" Lucy moaned wrapping her arms around the long-haired man until her hands were on his back, keeping him close to her.

Gajeel stopped sucking on Lucy's tit, moving his mouth close to her ear. "I should be saying that to you, no one else has made me this hard in a long time." Gajeel whispered huskily in Lucy's ear, sending wonderful shivers up her spine. Gajeel let out a really loud moan as the scent of Lucy's arousal reached its apex. "I can't stop myself anymore. Ready or not, here I come."

With a heavy grunt, Gajeel thrust himself into Lucy, the blonde letting out a loud moan as the man shoved his hard-as-steel erect member deep into her body. Gajeel began thrusting and thrusting Lucy again and again, his member going deeper and deeper inside the woman with each powerful thrust. Lucy's hold on Gajeel deeply tightened, the Dragon Slayer was also holding her very close with immense strength.

Lucy's breaths became deeper and faster as a coil began to build within her, and she felt like if she doesn't climax soon then her body would explode. Gajeel's breaths were becoming deeper and harder as he penetrated more and more deep into Lucy's core. Her walls were clasping down on his cock from all sides, squeezing the organ mercilessly, sending unimaginable waves of pleasure through Gajeel.

Gajeel looked down at the blonde he was fucking harder than anyone else he had fucked before. He would have never believed that he would be doing this with the blonde when they first met, that they would be not just friends but also friends with benefits. Well friends with benefits if this was more than a one-night stand.

For some reason, a part of Gajeel was angry that they were only friends, but he chose to ignore it as his thoughts became lost in his ecstasy. He watched as Lucy's breasts jiggled with each thrust he gave her, the urge to suck on the gigantic organs again becoming nearly overwhelming. Gajeel's cock felt like it was on fire, and if he didn't release soon than his balls would explode. At least that's what it felt like.

"Lucy...!" Gajeel warned, his body coating in sweat as the heat in him rose to levels that could put Natsu to shame. "I gonna... cum soon. I... I can't hold it in... much longer."

"I don't think... I can hold it in... much longer... either, Gajeel." Lucy said, coated in her own sweat like the man who was fucking her beyond her expectations. "I need... to cum soon...! I can't stop myself...!"

Gajeel's thrusting reach its pinnacle as he increased its speed until he was as deep in Lucy as possible. Both Lucy and Gajeel screamed each other's name as they both climaxed at the same time. Lucy's nails dug into Gajeel's back as she orgasmed, leaving painful crescent moons on the Dragon Slayer but he didn't care because she was giving him the best sex of his life.

Gajeel collapsed onto Lucy after he was done cumming his seed into her, his dick exiting her soaked folds as he rolled onto his side. Lucy and Gajeel were left breathing deeply as they looked at the former's ceiling, a myriad of black spots in their vision, both utterly exhausted from the sex they just had.

"That was... unbelievable." Lucy breathed, covering herself with the bed covers as the cold air blew over her exposed skin.

"You weren't... so bad... yourself." Gajeel breathed, smirking. "Besides... I've had... many one-night... stands."

"Oh really...?" Lucy asked, starring at Gajeel. "How many... have you had?"

"Gihihihihi..." Gajeel laughed, still breathing deeply as he regained lost energy. Gajeel was aware that Lucy was steadily watching the rise and fall of his chest, but he didn't mind nor care that she was. "Enough that they... eclipse that of... your little... lion cub."

Lucy snorted in amusement to Gajeel's statement. "Loke may be... a total playboy... but he has never had... sex with anyone." Lucy said, chuckling to herself before looking at Gajeel. "So Gaj... what do I owe you?"

"Hmm." Gajeel hummed as he thought about his response, rubbing his chin as he thought of what Bunny Girl could give him. There wasn't really much that he needed Bunny Girl for that he couldn't get from at least one other female in the guild, or just anyone in general in the guild, or just himself. He did admittedly have an interest in her when he and Shrimp lost their spark. Gajeel looked at the blonde known as the light of his guild, a huge grin on his face. "I'll think about it later... you were probably one of the best fucks I've ever had, an' that a lot."

Lucy just let out an exhale before falling asleep. Gajeel just looked back up at Lucy's ceiling, wondering if he should go home or just sleep in Bunny Girl's bed. A pair of slender arms wrapped around Gajeel's muscular frame, the Iron Dragon Slayer looking to see that Lucy had hugged and clung onto him in her sleep.

" _So Bunny's a cuddler, huh?_ " Gajeel thought as Lucy cuddled against him in her sleep, her face digging into his chest as her boobs pressed against his abs. Gajeel wrapped his muscular arms around Lucy, the blonde letting out a little content sigh in her sleep. She did give him a good time - the best time really - so he owes her this. Gajeel feared that he will have to use up the owe that Lucy... owes him by asking her to stop her so-called older brothers from killing him.

Gajeel looked at the blonde wrapped in his arms, the pupils in his eyes turning slit as protective and possessive emotions were inexplicably building within him. Gajeel's eye focussed on the love bite he left on Lucy's neck, a low growl escaping him as the desire to bite into the flesh returned with a vengeance. Gajeel managed to resist the desire and decided to think about it later, the Dragon Slayer succumbing to his exhaustion and falling asleep with the buxom blonde still in his arms.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Does anyone else not know how to start an Author's Note?**

 **If you're reading this then you probably have read what is (hopefully) the first chapter of a new story I'm working on; _Quid Pro Quo_. Of course, this is a Gajucy fic.**

 **Not sure how many chapters this story will have, maybe only twenty five at most; but I'm open to this having more than twenty five chapters if that's what happens. I'unno, I'm not Carla so I can't see the future.**

 **This is my first time writing two characters having sex, so I'm sorry if the sex scene came out weird. There will be more than just sex between Gajeel and Lucy, feelings will develop between these two.**

 **Until then...**

 **Bye.**


	2. You, Me, Mission, Now

Lucy opened her eyes to two big and well-defined pecs, two muscular arms holding her close to the big physique of a man. Lucy moved her face out of the chest and looked up, seeing that the muscular body was Gajeel's. Memories of last night played in Lucy's head; the blonde remembering her horrible date last night, the agreement that she and Gajeel had and then the great sex they had.

Lucy tried to get up, however the Iron Dragon Slayer had unsurprisingly an iron-like grip. Lucy grunted as she tried to force herself out of the space between Gajeel's arms and chest, however the two limbs didn't so much as budge. Lucy then tried to slip out of the hold, but that was also difficult. Aside from Gajeel tightening his grip on her in his sleep, the man made light growls as his arms kept changing their position to keep Lucy next to him. Lucy was eventually triumphant, escaping from his hold, wherein Gajeel's arms slumped to his sides as he resumed sleeping.

" _I guess all Dragon Slayers start getting cuddly when they fall asleep._ " Lucy thought with a giggle. Lucy looked at her clock and her eyes widened when she realised that she had overslept. Making a beeline for her bathroom, Lucy decided to take a shower instead of her usual bath. Since Lucy was already butt naked, she didn't have to take off any clothing so she entered the bathtub immediately.

Lucy turned the tap for hot water, shivering as the water came out cold until warming up and turning hot. Lucy grabbed a bar of soap and rubbed it around herself, washing her skin. After washing the soap off, Lucy grabbed a pink bottle of shampoo and squirted it into her hand, rubbing the strawberry scented liquid into her hair, humming herself a tune.

Once Lucy had fully washed her body, she dried herself up with a towel and wrapped it around her body. Lucy opened the bathroom door to find that Gajeel was still asleep on her bed. In fact he was sprawled across her bed, one of his feet hanging off the edge while the sheets were wrapped around him. After a quick peek at Gajeel's soft and no longer erect - but still bigger than average - dick, Lucy made her way to the bedroom drawers near the bed.

Lucy quickly put on a pair of blue lace panties and a blue lace bra. Lucy then put on a tank top and jean shorts. Lucy walked to the kitchen, leaving the door open, taking pans out of the kitchen cupboards and eggs, bacon and sausages out of the fridge. Lucy turned the stove on, frying the eggs while cooking the bacon and sausages. Lucy took bread out of the bread bin, putting the slices into the toaster.

Lucy was cooking breakfast for not only herself, but also Gajeel. Knowing what a Dragon Slayer's appetite is like from watching Natsu, Wendy, Laxus and even Gajeel himself eat, Lucy knew that Gajeel would want enough bacon, eggs, sausage and toast to feed a family of five. Luckily for Lucy, she had just enough of all them to feed both herself and the man she slept with last night. Constantly waking up to and having to feed a best friend of Fire Dragon Slayer has led Lucy to keep a high quantity of food in stock for mornings like this.

"What's that delicious smell?" A familiar rough voice said, Lucy turning around to see Gajeel at the kitchen door, leaning slightly against the frame as he rubbed his eyes, no doubt having just woke up.

"I'm cooking us breakfast." Lucy replied, silently enjoying the sight of Gajeel's naked and toned body. Even after seeing it last night, those bulging muscles were still attractive to her. Repressing the urge to pounce him and fuck him again, Lucy gave Gajeel a serious and impassive look. "Put your clothes back on."

Gajeel let out an amused snort. "And what makes ya think I'm gonna do that, Bunny Princess?" Gajeel responded, hands on his hips and one of his eyebrows raised in the same amusement. His pierced dragon dangling like a pendulum.

"You have two options, Gajeel; one is that you stay naked and keep making snarky comments, resulting in you getting a Lucy Kick that sends you across Magnolia, without your clothes on, might I add." Lucy said, putting one of her fingers up. Lucy quickly turned around to make sure that none of the food was burnt, putting the now perfectly cooked food on a plate before putting some more eggs, bacon and sausages on the pans and more bread in the toaster before looking back at Gajeel, two fingers raised. "And the other option is that you put your clothes on and keep your mouth shut, wherein you get a free breakfast and not have your dragonhood exposed to the world."

Gajeel's annoying smug grin disappeared back into his usual frown. "Fine, you win, Bunny. I'll put my clothes back on." Gajeel said, turning around as he headed to Lucy's bedroom to put his clothes back on, giving Lucy a nice view of his broad back. "An' it ain't called a dragonhood, Sweetheart. Just 'cause I'm a Dragon Slayer doesn't mean everything 'bout me is a dragon."

Lucy let out a snicker of victory as she turned around back to the breakfast she was cooking. Gajeel looked back at Lucy, enjoying the sight of how those tight jean shorts made her firm ass stick out. " _God, how I'd love to piledrive up that ass of hers._ " Gajeel thought as he put his boxers back on, not caring about the dried jizz on it. " _Maybe I'll get the chance if I can fuck her again._ "

Gajeel put all of his clothes, even his boots, from last night back on. And in time, too, as Lucy came into the room with two plates of toast, fried eggs, bacon and sausages. One plate had vastly more of the foods than the other. Lucy placed the two plates on the table, the blonde Celestial Spirit mage quickly disappearing into the kitchen to return with two knives and forks.

Gajeel looked down at his plate; toast placed upon toast, fried egg placed on fried egg, bacon placed atop of bacon and so many sausages that they barely fitted on the plate. Gajeel grinned widely at the sight, looking up at Lucy as she sat down. Lucy felt an oddly warm feeling in her chest as she looked at the thankful expression on Gajeel's face. The blonde had rarely ever seen Gajeel with such lit up eyes before, it was almost uncanny.

"Thanks a lot, Lucy." Gajeel said, a smile on his face. It wasn't a smirk or anything like that, it was an actual genuine smile. As if Lucy's chest wasn't already warm enough. "Lily never cooks enough food to satisfy me, and he always ends up bitchin' in the end."

"Oh, um, thank you. It wasn't really anything new or difficult for me by this point." Lucy replied, sticking a fork in one of her fried eggs and cutting it with her knife, sticking the piece in her mouth, eating it. "Natsu sneaks in late at night and sleeps in my bed a lot, and I often have to cook breakfast for him because he can't cook without burning everything. And I've also seen Wendy, Laxus and yourself eat, I know that Dragon Slayers eat at least five times as much food as the regular human. Cooking an abundance of food for Dragon Slayers has kind of became an old hat for me."

Gajeel just grinned at his breakfast, immediately picking up his knife and fork and scoffing down his breakfast. As she ate her own breakfast, Lucy observed that while Gajeel was indeed eating his breakfast in a fast and greedy manner, his food wasn't going everywhere like when Natsu eats. Then again, whenever Lucy saw Laxus or Wendy eat they were still pretty clean with their food, despite the quick and greedy way that they ate.

Maybe getting food everywhere was just a Natsu thing.

Actually, considering Natsu's disgusting excuse for hygiene and that pigsty he calls a home, maybe it was just nothing more but Natsu being Natsu. As Lucy ate her bacon, she noticed that Gajeel was nearly finished with his food. Damn Dragon Slayers their quick eating, even with copious amounts of food.

Lucy had ate everything but the toast on her plate, the blonde biting into the buttered food when she heard a crunching sound. Lucy looked up to Gajeel, only for her eyes to bulge out in shock as Gajeel was biting on his knife, the metal being broken, eaten and swallowed without consequence due to the black-haired man's magic.

"What in the holy name of everything holy and magical are you doing?!" Lucy screeched as Gajeel ate the knife and started to eat the fork.

"Eating, duh." Gajeel replied rudely, making Lucy scowl angrily at him. "I'm a Dragon Slayer, I need to eat my own element. Kind of think it's like we Dragon Slayers have two stomachs, one for regular food and one for our element. If either of these two stomachs aren't left filled, I become weak and tired and cranky."

Lucy made a scoff at Gajeel, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you ask me, you're always cranky; even when with a full belly." Lucy said. The blonde noticed that Gajeel was eyeing her knife and fork, her eyes widening before she grabbed them and held them protectively against her chest like an overprotective mother with her child when attacked. "Oh hell no you're not eating these, you're lucky I'm still letting you live after eating the first two."

Gajeel made his own little scoff. "C'mon, Bunny, it's not like you're still using them." Gajeel said, reaching for the knife and fork. Lucy swatted the Iron Dragon Slayer's hand away as he nearly grabbed the two metal cutlery.

"It doesn't matter, you still can't eat what isn't yours without the owner's permission." Lucy said as Gajeel rubbed the back of his hand. "And just because I'm not using them now doesn't mean I won't be using them later."

"Well I need some iron now or I'm gonna be starvin'." Gajeel said as he stood up, looking around Lucy's house for any metal that she would allow him to eat.

"Don't you have some metal lying around at your _own_ house?" Lucy asked in an annoyed voice, putting her cutlery back on the table. "And why the hell do you think I have iron lying around in my underwear drawer?!"

"Gihihihihihihi." Gajeel laughed dirtily as he looked into Lucy's underwear drawer, pulling out a piece of lingerie from the drawer; a bulge becoming visible in his pants as he imagined Lucy in the piece. It is after all lingerie that _she_ bought. "Maybe I should use that owe you have for me so I can see you in this."

Gajeel felt a sharp pain as Lucy slapped him at the back of the head. "Nope, just because I feel an owe to you doesn't mean that I will do _anything_ that you ask of me. I am a woman of standards." Lucy said as she walked back to her table and sat back down, ignoring Gajeel as he rubbed the back of his head where she smacked him.

Gajeel looked back at Lucy as she continued to eat her toast. "Whatever. I'm goin' back to my house to eat some iron, see ya at the guild, Bunny." Gajeel said as he exited Lucy's house... from the window.

"Hey, the front door is there for a reason you know!" Lucy yelled as Gajeel disappeared from sight. Lucy sighed, knowing that it was pointless since Gajeel wouldn't listen to her, either because he is now too far to hear her or because he would just ignore her. Lucy slumped back down on her seat, finishing off her toast before putting her and Gajeel's plates and her knife and fork in the kitchen sink for when she washes them later.

The blonde mentally noted to buy some more knives and forks later... if she manages to have enough Jewel after paying her rent and buying food. Lucy attached her Celestial Spirit keys and her whip to her belt before exiting her house, locking the door behind her.

"Open, Gate of the Canis Minor, Nikora." Lucy said as she held out Plue's key, the snowman-like entity appearing as his key shimmered with Lucy's magic. "Aww, you're still as adorable as ever." Lucy cooed as she kneeled down and petted Plue on the head, the Celestial Spirit's tail wagging as she petted him. He may look like a snowman, but he's definitely a dog for sure.

Lucy and Plue made their way to Fairy Tail, wherein Lucy sat at the bar while Plue danced on the bar counter. "You're a lot more chipper than last night." Mirajane said happily, setting down a strawberry milkshake in front of Lucy. "Gajeel must have been amazing in the bed, wasn't he?" Mirajane added, the eldest Strauss sibling giving Lucy a suggestive wink.

"Oh my God, Mira, you massive pervert!" Lucy exclaimed, the two females laughing together shortly thereafter. After laughing, Lucy looked around the guild; a feeling of disappointment welling as she couldn't find the familiar blond or green hair of her brothers. "Hey Mira, have you seen Laxus or Freed?"

"No." Mirajane replied as she served some alcohol-filled mugs to other members of the guild. The guild doors had opened, Lucy looking to see that Gajeel had entered the guild; he was of course wearing his usual attire, except that he wore the shirt he wore prior to the Grand Magic Games when they returned in X791. And Lucy had a feeling that his pants were actually different from the ones he was wearing when he left her house that morning.

When Gajeel set foot into the guild, he was suddenly tackled by a blur of purple and black with a bit of yellow at the top. Lucy moved her head to where the blur (and subsequently, Gajeel) went, finding her Iron Dragon Slayer of a one-night stand pinned to the wall by the neck by Laxus; the Lightning Dragon Slayer looking at the black-haired man darkly.

"What... the hell?" Gajeel said as Laxus kept him pinned to the wall, the situation feeling embarrassing as Laxus was keeping him pinned with only one hand.

"We're just making sure that you didn't hurt our little sister last night." Laxus answered threateningly, Freed appearing next to him suddenly.

"Lucy, I think you should stop your big brothers before they end up killing Gajeel." Mirajane advised, fearing that she may have to transform into one of her Satan Souls to protect her guild mate from her other guild mates' overprotectiveness. Lucy nodded in understanding, walking over to Laxus and Freed.

"Alright, knock it off you two." Lucy said, annoyed, slapping Laxus' arm that held Gajeel pinned to the wall. The slap may have just as been a gentle pat for Laxus, but he let go of Gajeel anyways, considering that it was his little sister that told him to let go of him. Lucy squeezed the bridge of her nose between her index finger and her thumb, sighing in the same annoyance. "I swear, having brothers like you two is both a blessing and a curse."

"It is purely in our nature as your brothers to be protective of you." Freed responded calmly, pulling Lucy into a hug. "We can't help it if we love you... platonically, of course."

Lucy sighed in annoyance again, although she soon gave in and hugged her green-haired 'brother' happily. "And I platonically love you two too." Lucy said as she hugged Freed, giving him a quick and platonic peck on the cheek. Freed made a light chuckle as his little sister gave him a kiss on the cheek. Laxus smiled at the sight, ruffling Lucy's hair before kissing his boyfriend on the cheek.

Gajeel got back on his feet, rubbing his neck as Laxus' hold on his neck was rather tight.

"Say, Blondie, I heard you ask Mira if she saw me or Freed." Laxus said, looking down at the woman that he viewed as his little sister. "Was there something you needed us for?"

"Well, I was wondering if we could all go on a mission together." Lucy explained, Freed looked happy at the explanation, however Laxus had a more apologetic expression. "Y'know, sorta as a sibling thing that the Strauss siblings do."

"I'd love to go on a mission with you." Freed replied happily, the man and Lucy looking at Laxus expectantly, although that expectant feeling started to disappear as they saw Laxus' expression.

"Gee, sorry Blondie, but I have to go on an emergency S-Class mission soon." Laxus said, rubbing the back of his head while looking to the side with a shameful expression. "I promise you, I'll go on a mission with you when I get back."

"It's okay, Laxus." Lucy said. "I understand the seriousness of emergency missions. Besides, I'm okay with going on a mission with only one of my brothers."

Laxus smiled, giving Lucy a gentle pat on the head and disappearing as a bolt of lightening. "Do you want to check the board for missions, Sister?" Freed asked, looking a Lucy; the Celestial Spirit mage was one her way to the request board, checking for any high-paying, two person jobs that she could take with Freed. As Gajeel watched the blonde look for a mission, an idea began to form in the Dragon Slayer's head. An idea that he liked, a large and perverted smile forming on his face.

"'Help needed, a group of bandits keep on stealing from our town and hotel. We are offering a 300,000 Jewel reward.'" Lucy read out, taking the piece of paper from the request board, bringing it to Mirajane. "Freed and I will take this job, please."

"A mission to stop a band of thieves." Freed said as he looked over Lucy's shoulder, reading the request, smiling at his little sister's choice. "A good choice, my little sister. A mission like this will be perfect brother-sister bonding time."

Mirajane grabbed her book of mission requests, the Take Over mage writing down Lucy's name for the mission request and was about to write down Freed's when a small iron pole got in her way. "Yer gonna need to bond over somethin' else, Mint Head, 'cause _I'll_ be the one takin' that mission with Bunny Girl." Gajeel said, the small iron pole coming from his index finger, which quickly turned back to normal.

"WHAT?!" Lucy, Freed and Mirajane exclaimed in surprise, each having different emotional reactions; Lucy was just confused, Freed looked angry and like he was preparing to use one of his Dark Écriture spells on the Iron Dragon Slayer, and Mirajane was starting to blush as she was thinking of romantic implications between Gajeel and Lucy.

"I said that I'm the one that's goin' on the mission with Bunny Girl." Gajeel said, the Dragon Slayer having a teeth-showing grin. "I gave it to her last night as a quid pro quo, thus she owes me something; an' that somethin' is a mission with me."

Freed glared darkly at Gajeel. Well, more darkly than before. "You're trying to take advantage of my sister's owe to you, aren't you?" Freed said, his right eye transforming as his Dark Écriture Magic was activating. "You're making her go on this mission with you so you can get her in your pants, aren't you?"

Freed unsheathed his sword, the blade inches away from Gajeel's neck. Freed was going to unleash a powerful and painful Dark Écriture spell on Gajeel, but stopped when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, the green-haired man turning his head to look at his sister.

"It's okay, Freed." Lucy said calmly, turning around to Mirajane. "I changed my mind, I'll take the mission with Gajeel."

"Okay." Mirajane replied in a more cheerful way than usual, making a happy hum as she wrote down Gajeel's name in the mission request book. After Mirajane wrote the Dragon Slayer's name into the book, she closed with an extra big and extra sweet smile on her face. "I hope you two _enjoy_ your mission together."

If Lucy had or hadn't heard the slight innuendo in Mirajane's voice, she didn't show it. The blonde Celestial Spirit mage turned towards Gajeel, giving him the request for the mission they will be taking. "Our mission is at a town called Orchid Town, it is a three hour train ride. Meet me at the train station in about ten minutes." Lucy said, a slight smirk rolling up on her face as she saw Gajeel's face lose all colour when she mentioned the train ride. "What's the matter? Are you ready to rescind your request?"

Gajeel shook his head from side to side until the colour returned to his face. "Nah, I'll see ya at the train station, Bunny." Gajeel replied, a sense of gusto in his voice. The Dragon Slayer left the guild, either to go to the train station or to get something from his home. Lucy shrugged, not really minding going on a mission with Gajeel, even though she already knows the dirty intentions behind him wanting to go on a mission with her. Although Lucy didn't mind doing it with Gajeel again. In fact the mission may come out as a win-win situation.

Lucy picked up Plue (who was oblivious to what was happening as Mirajane gave him lollipops to distract him) and held him in her arms, the blonde exiting the guild as she went home to get her stuff. As Lucy was exiting from the guild, Freed watched; concern for his little sister arose within the rune user, the man closing his eyes as his body changed into runes and disappeared.

* * *

Lucy mostly packed clothes and some food into her suitcase, the blonde having a feeling that Gajeel's true intentions would result in her not returning home until tomorrow. Lucy zipped up her suitcase and starting pulling the case with her as she walked. Lucy opened her front door, only to collide with an invisible wall when she tried to exit her house from it. Lucy stared at the empty air in front of her front door while rubbing the area on her head that collided with the invisible wall, dark purple runes suddenly at her doorway.

Lucy huffed her cheeks in annoyance, of course he would do that. "Alright Freed, show yourself." Lucy said, crossing her arms in annoyance. Many tiny runes flew off the wall of runes at Lucy's doorway, forming together to form one of the two men that Lucy sees as her older brothers.

"I am sorry, Lucy, but I can't help but worry for you." Freed apologised. Lucy just continued to stare at him in annoyance with her arms crossed. "I know Gajeel is a member of our guild, but there is something about his intentions that make my protective big brother instincts for you arise."

Lucy let out a little sigh, turning her head from side to side while her fingers rested on her forehead. After a while, Lucy looked back at Freed. "Freed, I know you're protective of me, but I will be fine." Lucy said reassuringly, taking Freed's hands into her own. "Gajeel's different now, he won't hurt me. And it's not like I disagree with his intentions. Besides, if Gajeel tries to do anything malicious or something akin to that towards, my spirits will protect me."

Freed was silent before looking away from the Celestial Spirit mage. "I'm sorry, Lucy. It's just hard to control these protective instincts." Freed said shamefully before turning back towards Lucy, a look of worry in his eyes. "Just promise me you will be safe."

"I promise."

Freed was tentative, but knew to trust his little sister nevertheless. The green-haired man removed the runes he casted, the barrier seemingly disappearing. Lucy gave Freed a chaste kiss on the cheek before walking out of her house and towards the train station. Freed watched his sister as she disappeared into the distance before looking back at the rune barrier he put around Lucy's house; technically he didn't remove the barrier, more of just changing the rules from who can't leave to who can't enter.

" _There's still no way I'm letting anyone, even my guild mates, date my little sister._ " Freed thought protectively before making sure that Lucy's house was locked and secured, the man then turning himself into hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny runes that flew back to the guild.

* * *

When Lucy made it to the train station, with her suitcase in tow, Gajeel was already waiting there for her with Panther Lily. The Dragon Slayer was sitting on a chair with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes were closed and he was snoring as he was sleeping, most likely out of boredom. The Exceed was in his small form and reading a book, the sight slightly humorous as the book looked large compared to Lily's little body. According to the cover, the book was about understanding rune language. Slung around Gajeel's arm was a rucksack that looked like it was full of unknown items. Lucy didn't know that Gajeel had a rucksack, nor that he used it when he and Lily went on missions.

Lily's ears wiggled as he heard Lucy's footsteps and the rolling sound from her suitcase, the Exceed looking up to see the blonde. "Hello, Lucy." Panther Lily greeted the woman happily, putting his book into the rucksack. Gajeel's eyes opened when he heard Lily say Lucy's name, his red eyes pinpointing on the busty blonde.

"Hey, Lily." Lucy greeted back, waving at the panther-like entity. Lucy approached the two, sitting down on a seat next to Gajeel. "So has Lily decided to come on the mission with us?"

"Yeah, he wanted to go on the mission with us. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he was adamant on joining." Gajeel answered, looking grumpy like usual. Gajeel suddenly grinned as he put his face near Lucy's. "But it doesn't matter that much, we can still have the real fun later." Gajeel whispered to Lucy, his voice so quiet that only Lucy was able to hear him due to how close he is to her. Not even Panther Lily heard what Gajeel whispered, despite his enhanced hearing. The Exceed raised an eyebrow as he couldn't hear what Gajeel said but decided to ignore it.

Lucy made a slight blush from what Gajeel whispered but it quickly disappeared. "Our train should be arriving soon, so we should get a move on." Lucy said. When the train for Orchid Town arrived, Lucy, Gajeel and Lily entered and found a private booth before sitting down on their seats. Lucy sat on the opposite side of the Dragon Slayer and his Exceed, the rucksack laying down next to Lily.

Gajeel was fine at first, however then the train jerked and started moving. Gajeel's motion sickness kicked in, his face turning pale as he put his hand over his mouth, groaning in pain. Lucy and Lily looked at Gajeel in concern, not knowing what to do to help him with his motion sickness. However Lucy then remembered an idea, the blonde smiling as she remembered an old trick that worked with Natsu.

"Gajeel, lay your head down on my legs." Lucy said, patting her hand on her bare legs. Lily and Gajeel (despite the latter barely being able to think because of the agony he is in) both looked at Lucy in confusion, the blonde quickly picking up that she needed to explain. "You see whenever Natsu gets motion sickness on a train he lays his head down on my legs, which manages to keep his motion sickness under control. Try it, Gajeel."

Despite it being hard to think because of his current condition, Gajeel complied to Lucy's demand, the Dragon Slayer lying his head on her legs. Instantly, Gajeel felt his stomach beginning to calm, that pain in his stomach and the foul taste in his mouth disappearing. Gajeel now felt completely fine that he was lying his head on Lucy's legs. In fact, he felt more than fine.

"Wow, it worked." Lily remarked, looking at Lucy with a genuine expression of being impressed, not that the Exceed was ever patronizing. "No matter what I do, I can't stop Gajeel from turning into a groaning, squirming mess from his motion sickness. You're a miracle worker, Lucy."

"Thank you, Lily. Although I think calling me a miracle worker is higher praise than I deserve." Lucy said, blushing from the high praise she was getting from someone like Panther Lily. It wasn't that he was a grouchy loner (unlike the man that Lucy had on her lap or her blond big brother) or anything of the sort, but considering his past as a military commander, Lucy thought that Panther Lily would have higher standards. Then again kiwis are for him what fish is for Happy, so maybe Lucy shouldn't have suspected him to have higher standards (beyond the ones he exhibited). And before Lucy found out about her 'cure' for Natsu's motion sickness, he was near insufferable when they went on vehicles, so maybe Gajeel's moaning and groaning was insufferable for Lily, hence why he praised Lucy. Either way, Lucy still wouldn't call herself a miracle worker. "It's just a thing I learned whenever Natsu went on vehicles with me."

Lily just shrugged before looking at Lucy again. "So why are you going on a mission with us?" Lily asked, the Exceed looking up at Lucy in curiosity.

"Oh, well I was originally going to go on a mission with my big brothers..." Lucy said, pausing slightly before continuing. "Well one of my older brothers, since Laxus needed to go on an S-Class mission. And I owed Gajeel for something he helped me with last night, and he decided to use that owe for us to go on this mission."

"I see." Lily said. "And where is Natsu and the rest of your team."

"Well Wendy and Carla are at Lamia Scale, visiting Sherria for a few days." Lucy explained, looking down at Gajeel. Lucy suddenly started to stroke Gajeel's hair, although she didn't know why. Simultaneously, Gajeel found himself not minding the sensation of Lucy scratching her nails along his scalp. In fact, he actually kind of enjoyed it for an inexplicable reason. "Erza and Jellal are on an S-Class mission, Gray and Juvia are on a mission, and Natsu and Happy are on a mission with Lisanna."

A cheeky smirk was suddenly on Lily's face, an unusual sight on the Exceed. At least it was nothing in comparison to Happy's cheeky grin. "So Erza, Gray and Natsu are on missions with their significant other, huh?" Lily said. Lucy could say that he was right; Erza and Jellal weren't exactly quite about their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, Gray eventually gave in to his feelings and is now in a happy relationship with Juvia, and Natsu and Lisanna became a couple when Natsu officially mated with the youngest Strauss sibling.

"Um... yeah, I guess you are right." Lucy said, stopping in her scratching of Gajeel's head. The Iron Dragon Slayer looked up at Lucy, wondering why she stopped stroking him. This resulted in him listening to Lily and Lucy's conversation. "Why does that seem so important?"

Lily's grin widened, actually becoming reminiscent of Happy! Lucy had a feeling that she'll regret her question. "Because it looks like you and Gajeel are joining in on your team's thing of going on missions with your lover."

Lucy started spluttering, her face feeling inexplicably hot from what the Exceed said, trying to comprehend what he was suggesting. Gajeel's eyes widened, the Dragon Slayer was also incredulous by what Lilly was suggesting, although for some strange reason he felt an odd pulse of warmth flow through his body from the suggestion that there was something romantic between him and Bunny Girl.

"I-It's not at all like that!" Lucy protested, waving her arms frantically. Lilly's smile didn't falter, in fact it only widened. This was because Lucy's face was becoming the colour of a tomato from her blush. "Gajeel and I are only friends... sure we're a special kind of friends- but we're not at all _that_ kind of special friends."

Gajeel agreed with Lucy tenfold. He and Bunny Girl are only friends with benefits, not at all lovers. Although for some reason Bunny Girl's insistence that she and him aren't a couple hurt. Gajeel didn't know why. Sure he had _a_ attraction for Bunny, but that was only because of her sexy body, nothing else. And Gajeel didn't want to find love after he and Levy stopped being in love those few months ago. Even if he and Shrimp are still good friends, the breakup still left Gajeel in an inner Hell of endless pain for weeks. Even when he eventually got over that Levy wasn't his mate, he vowed to himself that he would never fall in love again. He just barely got over the breakup. Hell, he barely even _survived_ the breakup. How he managed to hide the pain behind faux indifference, Gajeel will never know. But those wounds healed and he's no longer in pain from when he and Levy broke up.

Gajeel didn't want to fall in love again. If he fell back into that Hell, he most likely wouldn't be coming out again.

Lily just shrugged in response to Lucy's objection, the train ride being silent from then on. Lucy didn't keep track of time, so she didn't know how many minutes had passed. It just seems like time flies when you're stroking a Dragon Slayer. Panther Lily would either be eating kiwis or polishing his sword (the kiwis, polish and cloth of course coming from the rucksack), while Gajeel was lying his head on Lucy's legs and Lucy would (as said before) stroke Gajeel on the head.

Lucy looked down at Gajeel, the blonde surprised to find that Gajeel had fallen asleep. Gajeel was sleeping on his back, giving Lucy a view of his rising and falling chest as he breathed, helped by the fact that the light-grey opening was... well, open. At least open enough for her to see his pectorals and some of his abs. Lucy's lips felt dry as she gained the urge to move her fingers over his chest.

Lucy placed one of her hands over Gajeel's pectorals, her fingers making light rubs against the muscles. The sleeping Dragon Slayer made soft moans as he felt Lucy's fingers against his bare chest. Lucy stopped, waiting to see if Gajeel would wake up. When Gajeel remained asleep, Lucy continued to softly rub her fingers over the well-defined muscles.

Even after seeing them completely bare last night, Lucy couldn't help but still marvel at the sight of Gajeel's pecs. Gajeel let out a groan of pleasure through gritted teeth, his pecs bouncing slightly underneath Lucy's fingers. Lucy had to lick her lips again as they dried, the blonde trailing her finger between the Dragon Slayer's pectorals and through the valley of his abs.

Lucy then noticed the small bulge forming in Gajeel's pants, her eyes widening as she realised what she was doing. " _What is wrong with me?!_ " Lucy screamed in her head, using all of her willpower to stop herself from actually screaming it out loud. Lucy looked back down at Gajeel, the bulge in his pants disappearing and it seemed like he was overall relaxing. Lucy felt ashamed for what she did. " _I practically molested him... and on public transport no less!_ "

Luckily for Lucy, no one else was in the booth she and Gajeel were in... except for Panther Lily. Panther Lily was absolutely silent as he sat next to Lucy, the skin underneath his fur becoming flushed. The Exceed was beginning to understand the 'special kind of friends' that Gajeel and Lucy are.

Lucy and Lily looked at each other in the eye, the two silently agreeing to not talk about Lucy's lose of control and touchy hands.

* * *

Gajeel was shaken awake by Lucy, the former opening his eyes to look at the blonde, his stare being comparable to a glare.

"We're at Orchid Town, we should be getting off now." Lucy said, pushing Gajeel off her legs. Gajeel groaned as Lucy and Panther Lily exited, the Dragon Slayer pushing himself off the floor before slinging the rucksack back over his shoulder and getting out of the train before the torture device started to move again. The two mages and Exceed walk (or flew in Lily's case) through the train station until they found an area that had some space.

"So where are we meant to go to officialise the job, Bunny?" Gajeel asked, taking a chunk of iron out of the rucksack and biting into it, munching on the piece of iron in his mouth.

"It says here that we should meet the client at the Sleeping Moon Hotel." Lucy said, looking down at the sheet of paper that was the request. Lucy rolled up the paper and put it back in the top zip of her suitcase. The blonde walked over to a board that showed a map of Orchid Town, placing her finger over a big red circle that was connected to a red line that was also connected to the words 'YOU ARE HERE', written in red. "It says that we are here, and it says the Sleeping Moon Hotel is over here. We just need to follow the directions and we should meet up with the client."

Gajeel grunted in response, the Dragon Slayer and his Exceed partner following the Celestial Spirit mage to the hotel. As Gajeel followed Lucy, he began to pick up a smell coming from Lucy. It was a smell that he smelt before, and it definitely wasn't lust that he was smelling. It was a sweet scent, one of strawberries, jasmine and something else. The only time that Gajeel could recall smelling it was when he was in the Celestial Spirit World after helping Bunny Girl and friends when the Zodiacs went crazy from those Fiore royals' giant gate.

In fact, Bunny Girl's spirits smelled like that all the time. And that Celestial Spirit mage from Sabertooth had Celestial Spirits that also smelled like that all the time. Gajeel's eyes widened, was that the smell of stardust he was smelling? Either way, it was strangely enjoyable.

" _But wait, is that Bunny Girl's natural scent?_ " Gajeel thought as he continued to follow Lucy. Gajeel temporarily increased his speed until he was closer to Lucy, the Dragon Slayer sniffing more of her scent, the Celestial Spirit mage was somehow oblivious (to Gajeel's luck). But that didn't stop Panther Lily and people who were passing by the Fairy Tail mages from noticing. " _Smells like it's her scent. She usually smells like her teammates, although recently she has started to smell like her so-called brothers. Although she still smells a lot like Salamander._ "

Gajeel focused primarily on the scent on Lucy that was her own, the scent that he had never smelled on her before; the scent that he never smelled on anything or anyone else before. Gajeel could no longer smell the other scents around him, or the other scents on Lucy, just the blonde's natural smell. Gajeel's eyes closed as he felt his nerves calm. She smelled like Heaven! Gajeel was tempted to grab Lucy and sniff her entire body like some dog.

Gajeel's eyes shot wide open as he realised what he just thought, the Dragon Slayer slowing down his speed until he was next to the flying Panther Lily again. "Would you care to explain why you were sniffing Lucy?" Lily asked Gajeel with a voice so quiet that only he and the Iron Dragon Slayer could hear because of their advanced hearing, one of the cat-like entity's eyebrows raising.

"...She smelled really good." Gajeel answered with a voice of the same volume as he watched the woman he was following, his red eyes focusing on the gentle sway of her hips. Gajeel licked his lips, not seeing anything off with that since it was only lust. Besides, getting her in his pants was the purpose of why he wanted her to take this mission with her. Although technically he was taking the mission with her since she was the one to originally pick it out. "I never smelled anything like her before, I could smell her all day and never get tired of it."

"Oh really...?" Lily responded, giving Gajeel a smile. "Is it like when you and Levy ha-?"

" _No_ , it's _nothing_ like Levy!" Gajeel responded, and even though he was somewhat yelling he was still too quite for anyone to hear unless they had enhanced hearing. "I already told you, I'm not fallin' for anyone ever again, guild mate or not. You know how much the heartbreak was killin' me. Hell, if it wasn't for my Dragon Slayer regeneration abilities than my neck would still have the marks from the-!"

"We're here." Lucy said cheerily, stopping the conversation between Gajeel and Panther Lily that she wasn't aware of. The Dragon Slayer and Exceed looked to the blonde to see her standing in front of a giant building.

It was a three stories tall hotel, a giant golden sign was atop of the giant door at the front. The golden sign said 'Sleeping Moon Hotel' in golden letters with a purple background, a painting of a sleeping crescent moon with little 'Z's escaping its mouth on the left side of the words and a painting of a smiling star on the right side. At the top of the sign was a red bar with four golden stars.

Lucy skipped with a tune as she entered the hotel, the lobby seemed to be empty except for two people sitting at a small table and the receptionist at the front desk. The magical trio made their way to the front desk, Lucy could already smell the myriad of perfumes on the receptionist, even though she could only smell things the same way as any normal human. Lucy looked at Gajeel to see him scrunching his nose in discomfort, his teeth bared as he tried to stop himself from complaining at the employee for all the perfume she had sprayed on herself.

The receptionist spotted them, she was dressed in a suit and had brown hair in pigtails. On her left breast was a name tag that said 'May'. It seemed as though the woman was aware of Fairy Tail, as her eyes both lighted up and looked confused.

"You're Lucy Heartfilia, Gajeel Redfox and Panther Lily of Fairy Tail!" May exclaimed in excitement, although her face turned back into its earlier confusion. "But wait, I've never heard of you three being in a team before."

"It's just a one-time thing." Lucy said, however Gajeel grinned from beside her.

"Don't be so quick to presume things, Bunny." Gajeel said, causing Lucy to look at the grinning Dragon Slayer, his smile looking so irritability smug that it looked like an open smirk. "Who knows, maybe you, I an' Lily will become a team and go on many missions together."

Lucy puffed her cheeks before letting out a breath, turning away from the Dragon Slayer and putting her hands on her hips. "You'll have to get past my current team before you can form a new one with me." Lucy said. That was partially the truth; ever since Erza, Gray and Natsu all gained a romantic partner, they all started to go on missions as a team less, preferring to go on a mission with their lover. It was their lovers' fault, at least it felt like it since they didn't want to enforce that they couldn't go on missions with others, especially together. Lucy still managed to go on missions with Wendy when the Sky Dragon Slayer wasn't spending time with Porlyusica to train the healing properties of her magic, and Team Natsu still managed to go on missions together as their old team twice and sometimes thrice a month.

It okay though, her teammates were now in committed relationships and Lucy can't blame them for wanting to spend time with their significant others. At least she still had her older brothers to go on missions with, and if she didn't have them her missions were either solo or with people she doesn't usually go on missions with. Sometimes even with the significant others that were causing her team to slowly drift apart, not that she ever resented them because of it, especially since two of them were her close friends before they became the girlfriends of her two male teammates. Although it kind of feels like Lucy was lying to herself when she still calls them a team, it was more like good friends that took missions together.

Was it really the end of the team that became the first of Lucy's Fairy Tail family.

Lucy felt small paws tug at her arm, the blonde looking to see that it was coming from Panther Lily, a worried and sad-looking expression on his face. Knowing that he had Lucy's attention, Lily opened his mouth to speak. "You're crying, Lucy." The black-furred Exceed said, his voice held the same concern that could be seen in his eyes.

Lucy's eyes widened in surprise, although she was starting to notice that something wet was falling down her cheeks. And her vision was blurring. Lucy placed the fingers of one of her hands on one of her cheeks, feeling wet droplets slide down the flesh bellow her eye and onto the digits. Realising that she in fact _is_ crying, Lucy hurriedly wiped away the tears from her eyes with her arms.

"I-It's nothing, Lily. Honestly." Lucy lied, masquerading her sadness perfectly. Now that Lucy could see clearly, she could see that she was the centre of attention of the room, even Gajeel was looking at her. Gajeel's stare felt the worst on Lucy; he wasn't glaring at her or looking at her disapprovingly. Instead he looked at her with the same concern, if not more concern, as everyone else. But for some reason it felt like Gajeel's eyes were projecting a heavy weight onto Lucy, making the busty woman feel uncomfortable. "I just daydreamed and lost control of my tear ducts. I'm fine."

"Are you sure, Bunny?" Gajeel asked, the concern in his voice feeling like a heavy weight to Lucy. "You were sniffling and-"

"I. Am. Fine." Lucy insisted. Gajeel stared at Lucy, but found himself giving up in persisting her and looked back at May, the brunette looking at the two mages uncertainly.

"If there is something wrong, you can rescind your agreement to the mission." The receptionist said.

"No, there is nothing wrong, everything is alright." Lucy said. "We're here to do the mission, and we'll do the mission."

"O...kay." May said. "I'll go get the boss."

The receptionist walked away into a room and disappeared, leaving Gajeel, Lucy and Lily on their own. Lucy made a quick walk to one of the chairs around one of the tables. Gajeel and Panther Lily sat next to Lucy, the two males were quiet as they sat next to the blonde, even though they wanted to talk about the little crying fit she turned into, to help her. Something seemed wrong with their friend (if they could call her that) and they wanted to help but she wouldn't let them.

It was after a few seconds of (ungodly) silence that the trio heard footsteps come closer and closer to them. "You three must be the Fairy Tail wizards that accepted the job request." Said a voice that was rich like gold. The three mages (or two mages if you don't count Lily) looked to see a tall, muscular man in a black suit. He had chiselled facial features, brown hair with amber eyes, his mouth and cheeks decorated with the whiskers of a shaven beard. His hands were tucked in his pockets, with the exceptions of his thumbs.

Lucy stood up and smiled at the man. "Yes, we are." Lucy responded happily.

The man politely took Lucy's hand and kissed it on the back. Lucy would have been otherwise flattered at the action if it didn't remind her of her date with William, still the worst date she ever had. At least the sex she had with Gajeel a few hours later saved that night from being the worst night she ever had.

"I am sorry, it's just I never once expected to meet with the powerful and beautiful Light of Fairy Tail, Lucy Heartfilia." The man said, his words genuine, letting go of Lucy's hand. "I assume that your partners are not okay with my... impulse."

Lucy looked back at Gajeel and Lily. Lily was giving the man a disapproving glare, not any different to most of Lucy's guild mates reactions if they went on a mission with her and the client ended up kissing her hand. But Gajeel was much different, his eyes were surrounded by a dark of hatred, almost making his red eyes shine from how dark the area surrounding them was, one of his hands was gripping the table to the point where it looked like it was about to crack. It was a worse reaction than most of Lucy's guild mates, but it was still better than how her brothers would most likely react. Freed would have rescinded the request in the blink of an eye before using his Dark Écriture Magic to leave the man convulsing on the ground in pain before using the same magic to grow wings and fly himself and Lucy away. And if it was Laxus, he would teleport himself and Lucy away after leaving the hotel as nothing more than a smoking crater.

At least that was what Lucy believed as the most likely to happen.

Lucy looked back at the man. "No, they're not." Lucy said calmly. "Care to explain the mission in detail before we handle the problem?"

"Ah, yes, the bandits." The man said, sitting down on one of the chairs around the table that Gajeel and Lily were sitting at, causing Lucy sit back where she was earlier. For some inexplicable reason, Gajeel wrapped one of his muscular arms around Lucy's shoulders. "I am Stephan Deltrio, the owner of the four star Sleeping Moon Hotel."

"The famed Sleeping Moon Hotel was first created by my great-grandfather, as time passed it was inherited from him by his child and so on and so on until I inherited it from my mother. Of course the Sleeping Moon Hotel has had changes to it throughout the years, one must always keep up with the changing times if they wish to succeed."

"Yeah, yeah, yadda yadda yadda." Gajeel said rudely. Lucy stared at the Iron Dragon Slayer in disapproval, removing his arm from around her shoulders. "Can you quit givin' us the history of yer business and start talkin' about the request like Bunny Girl told you to."

Lucy bit her bottom lip, fearing that Stephan would have decided that he didn't want the trio to do the request because of Gajeel's rudeness. Luckily though, Stephen was calm against Gajeel's rudeness, complying to the Dragon Slayer's demand.

"Ah, yes. You see Sleeping Moon Hotel is one of the most successful businesses in Orchid Town, as well as one of its most financial businesses." Stephan explained, barely reacting to the glare that Gajeel continued to give him. "Recently thieves have been robbing from our town, most prominently from this hotel."

"And that's why you want us to stop them, isn't it?" Lily asked, his little arms crossed over his little chest.

"Yes." Stephan answered, looking at the three Fairy Tail members. "Because of the constant robberies from our hotel and our customers, the Sleeping Moon Hotel has started to do badly in business. If the thieves are not stopped, then the four star Sleeping Moon Hotel will be out of business. I beg of you, please stop these thieves before it's too late."

"We'll do it!" Lucy answered, her hands balled into fists and her brow furrowed with determination. Lucy abruptly stood up, keeping her determined stare on Stephan. "We'll stop the thieves for you and for your hotel."

"Oh thank you! Thank you very, very much!" Stephen exclaimed earnestly, shaking one of Lucy's hands in his two larger ones. Gajeel stood up and was right behind Lucy, letting out a growl that was so quiet that only the Dragon Slayer himself was aware of it, although he didn't really know why. When he was finished shaking Lucy's hand, Stephen gestured to the receptionist desk, where May still was. "Go talk to May and she will give you the key to your room, where you can store your stuff," he gestured towards Lucy's suitcase and Gajeel and Lily's rucksack, "And sleep if it's night and you're tired when you defeat the thieves. The thieves are suspected to be located in a forest that is not too far away from behind this hotel."

Stephan then gave Lucy another quick kiss on the back of her hand (much to Gajeel and Lily's ire) and walked away and disappeared from sight. Lucy, Gajeel and Lily made their way back to the receptionist desk, where May gave them the key to their room. May suddenly leaned towards Gajeel. "By the way, our hotel walls are soundproof, so if you and Lucy are planning on... doing the bed wrestle, so will know or hear." May whispered to Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer was left startled, wondering if the brunette could read minds or if it was just a lucky guess. Considering that she wasn't reacting to Gajeel's mental yelling of confusion (or of how much he hated her perfume), Gajeel concluded that she wasn't a telepath.

The Fairy Tail mages made their way to the room written down on the small card connected to their key, Lucy inserted the key into the keyhole and twisted it, unlocking the room. The room wasn't too big, though it had a closet for clothes to be stored, two one-person beds at the side and a big king-sized bed. It also had a bathroom that included a toilet (with toilet rolls), a sink and a bathtub/shower. And all while retaining a relative amount of free space.

Lucy put her suitcase near the king-sized bed while Gajeel just chucked his rucksack onto the bed before they left the hotel and made their way into the forest where the bandits were located.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well I was really hoping that I could put the fight of Lucy, Gajeel and Lily against the 'bandits' in this, but this has already proven itself to be a relatively long chapter (although I have written longer).**

 **Anyways this chapter was more meant to be about Lucy and Gajeel starting to develop feelings for each other instead of the sexy stuff (although we might be able to see some sexy stuff in the next chapter if I don't write it to be too relatively long).**

 **Thank you for the favs and reviews. All reviews are welcomed, even constructive criticism, as long as you want to write a review. If you don't want to write a review then you don't have to.**

 **See you in the next chapter.**


	3. Wendigo Skull

Gajeel was in the lead as Lucy (with Lily perched on her shoulder) followed him, the Dragon Slayer trying to sniff out the bandits' location. However, if it was because of the varying scents and smells that surrounded the forest or if it was because he was trying to understand why he suddenly felt so damn angry when Stephan What's-His-Second-Name kissed Bunny Girl on the back of her hand, Gajeel just couldn't find any smells that even alluded to a bandit hideout. For some reason, the fact that someone kissed the back of Lucy's hand just made him so mad he wanted to beat the fucker. But it just made no sense to Gajeel why he would get so damn mad seeing that.

It's not that Gajeel didn't care about Bunny Girl; she was not only a guild mate, but she also forgave him for beating her for his amusement when they first met. So she was one of the guild mates that Gajeel cared for more than his other guild mates (although a more accurate way of saying it is as one of the guild mates that Gajeel cared for in general). Although that didn't explain his anger, he had missions with other female guild mates where they got kissed on the back of their hand and he didn't give a crap.

But Gajeel was still feeling angry about what happened at the hotel, something inside of him was growling and roaring in rage. Maybe he could take out his anger on the bandits and get it out of his system. Lucy's amazing scent of strawberries, jasmine and what he could only assume as Celestial Spirit Magic had came closer to Gajeel as the blonde that the scent belonged to had came closer herself.

Gajeel looked at the blonde, trying to ignore her mouth-watering scent. "Have you found anything yet?" Lucy asked Gajeel. Panther Lily used his Aera Magic to grow angel-like wings on his back, the cat-like entity flying off of Lucy shoulders.

"No, there's no smells that are like a gang of bandits... at least nothin' that I can smell." Gajeel said to Lucy. The blonde let out a little sigh, one that had a hint of sadness in it, which made that something inside of Gajeel from earlier make its presence slightly known before disappearing again. Lucy must have been deep in thought about something, as she wasn't aware where she was going. Lucy put a foot in front of a large tree root that stuck out of the ground, unaware of the wooden plant's organ's existence. Lucy's foot moved forward as she moved her body forward, the foot being stopped by the thick root in front of it while Lucy's body continued to move forward. Lucy tripped, her body falling towards the ground.

Gajeel and Lily watched as Lucy closed her eyes as she anticipated hitting the ground. Usually Gajeel would be indifferent to seeing someone fall to the ground, even if they were a guild mate. However as he watched Lucy fall to the ground, whenever he wanted to or not, Gajeel caught Lucy. He didn't know or realise when he did, he just lost control of his body and it moved to save Lucy all by itself. Gajeel blinked as he realised that he was holding Lucy in his arms, and that he was holding Lucy's face into his chest.

Lucy's eyes were wide and her skin was flushed as Gajeel held her face into his chest muscles. It was just like this very morning, except it was all very sudden. And it's not like Lucy didn't enjoy such an up close view of Gajeel's pecs. The Iron Dragon Slayer sniffed another smell that was mixed with Lucy's natural fragrance; a small hint of lust.

" _Fuckin' hell, I'm not meant to be turnin' Bunny Girl on until later today!_ " Gajeel mentally exclaimed and let go of Lucy before even a small or slight bulge could start forming in his pants. Lily watched his two friends as there was a small moment of awkward silence between them, trying to ignore the small smell of lust that came off Lucy and subsequently Gajeel. After the Celestial Spirit mage and the Dragon Slayer looked at each other in the eye before the latter clear his throat. "Look where ya're goin' next time, 'kay Bunny?" Gajeel said, turning away from Lucy and trying to sniff out where those thieves are located.

"Um... okay." Lucy responded, the blush in the flesh of her cheeks was starting to fade and disappear. The blonde fiddled her hands together and kept her eyes on her feet, looking where she was going. "Thank you, Gajeel."

"...Don't mention it." Gajeel responded after a pregnant silence. Lily watched Gajeel and Lucy interact as he flew behind them, noticing how they were acting differently around each other than usual. Primarily, Panther Lily noticed the slight change in Gajeel. Usually when the Iron Dragon Slayer was thanked for something, he would rarely respond, and when he did it was with indifference. And while there was no difference to that indifference to the regular person, Lily could say that he was 'close' enough to notice the slight difference in Gajeel's voice, a tiny change of tone that showed that he actually cared, even if he himself didn't realise it.

The last time Lily noticed this slight change in personality within Gajeel was when he was dating Levy. Panther Lily's mind went to the possibility of Gajeel and Lucy becoming a couple; Lily did like Levy before she and Gajeel became girlfriend and boyfriend, and the panther-like being still likes Levy to this day. Lily knows that he likes Lucy, it was virtually impossible to spend a few minutes with her without gaining a liking to the female. So of course Lily wouldn't have any problems with Lucy becoming Gajeel's girlfriend.

But then there was the real possibility of Gajeel and Lucy becoming a couple, not Lily's opinion of the concept. It would have its complications, Gajeel and Lucy do have many differences and little similarities, but then again they do say that opposites attract. And even with them being opposites, a glimmer of a possibility has been shown to the Exceed; Gajeel had already shown that, at least on a subconscious level, he has an attraction towards Lucy that could be far more than physical. And Lucy herself has already shown what could be an interest in the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Panther Lily smiled; the possibility of Gajeel and Lucy having a romantic relationship has shown that it could be probable, and Lily likes the idea of that probability. Although that possibility also came with a problem; that they will become a couple but ultimately break up. And if that happens then Gajeel may fall into the same dark depression that he fell into after he and Levy broke up, even though it was mutual. Gajeel thought that Levy was his mate, and so a few days after he and Levy were no longer a couple the break-up left devastating effects on Gajeel that he hid from everyone, even Lily. The Exceed had, however, managed to find out and in time too, if he didn't then Gajeel wouldn't be a part of the living anymore.

Nevertheless, after the ordeal ended, Gajeel had swore that he would never fall in love again. Ever.

Even if Gajeel was starting to realise that he could see Lucy as more than a guild mate and friend, he would deny it. Lily made a little frown, if he wanted Gajeel and Lucy to be together then he'll have to give it the nudge that it will need to happen. Although that may be hard, Panther Lily may be highly skilled, but he is only a warrior not a matchmaker. Luckily there is someone back at his guild who will most likely be willing to help. " _I'll have to remember to tell Mirajane about my plans when we return to the guild._ " Lily mentally noted as he continued to fly behind Gajeel and Lucy, the former returning to trying to sniff out the bandits like a dog while the latter followed him. " _Hopefully she will agree with me and help me get these two together._ "

Gajeel suddenly stopped, his foot on a rock, his hand outstretched towards Lucy and Lily to signal them to be quiet. Gajeel closed his eyes as he focussed more on his sense of smell, sniffing at the area of the forest in front of the three Fairy Tail members. Gajeel's eyes shot open, the Dragon Slayer turning his head towards his comrades.

"The bandits' hideout is near, I can smell 'em." Gajeel said, making sure his voice was quiet. Lucy and Panther Lily silently nodded, following Gajeel in his quiet footsteps towards the thieves' location. As the mages went deeper into the woods, the sounds of wildlife began to disappear, the trees were losing their foliage and their branches became old and gnarled, like twisted, slender, long arms that were reaching out for anything that came near them. As the two humans and cat-like creature traversed further into the seemingly dead and abandoned part of the forest, they saw a wooden building in the distance where the only plant life that surrounded it was twigs that stuck out of the ground.

It was a regular-looking wooden building, except for the sign atop of its door. The sign had the words 'WENDIGO SKULL' engraved into it, next to the words were the silhouette of a sideways deer head, its ears (or ear as only one was in the silhouette) was pointing backwards, an eye missing from the silhouette and an open mouth that showed teeth. Of course this was all only a picture engraved into the wood of the sign.

"I don't think this is a bandit guild, at least not just that." Lily said as he, Gajeel and Lucy hid behind a rock, checking for any sentrys that were standing guard. Of course there were none there, considering that the guild was nevertheless one that actually lacked in power. "I think this is a magical guild, more specifically a Dark Guild."

"Yeah, it definitely is a Dark Guild." Lucy confirmed as she and Gajeel got out from behind the rock. "I can sense the magic from inside the guild. It's nothing exceptional or powerful, but I can also sense that they're not weaklings. Even if it's not a challenge, defeating this Dark Guild won't be a walk in the park."

"Heh, it just makes disbanding this guild even more fun and exciting." Gajeel said with a toothy grin, cracking his knuckles in the anticipation of an actually interesting fight. "I can sense their magic as well, Juvia an' I defeated many Dark Guilds that are way stronger than this one, it'll be a piece of cake."

"But... what if I'm not as strong Juvia?" Lucy asked Gajeel, surprising the Iron Dragon Slayer. The blonde's voice was so insecure, and for some reason it mad Gajeel himself feel a strange sadness. And it also mad Gajeel angry for some reason.

"You shouldn't have so much disbelief in yourself, Bunny. You're a strong mage that can kick ass and even be a match for Juvia. Hell, my crazy water friend has even admitted to admiring your strength, so you're strong enough." Gajeel said. Lucy was silent as she looked at Gajeel, her eyes brightening and her mouth slightly open, a feeling of warmth spreading around her being from the Iron Dragon Slayer's words. She never knew that he believed in her that much. "And besides, if you're not as strong as Juvia then Lily here should be able to carry your weight."

The warm feeling in Lucy disappeared as she huffed in annoyance. So much for him believing in her. Lily flew next to Lucy. "Gajeel does make a point that you shouldn't hold such disbelief in your power." Lily told Lucy, giving the blonde a little smile. "In fact I heard Makarov say that you're one of Fairy Tail's stronger mages, he even said that you might be picked for the next S-Class participation exam."

Lucy stared at the former military captain in surprise, touched by the belief in his words. "Thank you, Lily." Lucy said as she pulled out her Fleuve d'étoiles, the whip gaining its water-like appearance. "Good to know that _one of you two_ knows how to behave like a gentleman."

Gajeel easily noticed Lucy's intentions in her words, starring back at the blonde to glare at her. "Hey, I can be a gentleman whenever the hell I want to." Gajeel snarled at Lucy, the busty woman ignoring his anger.

"I have known you for a while and have became one of the closest beings in the world to you." Panther Lily said to Gajeel as he stopped flying and landed on his feet, his wings disappearing into nothingness. Lily's body became engulfed in a bright light, his body and muscles expanding and growing from beneath the light until it faded, revealing him in a stronger body that Gajeel and Lucy have already known as his battle form. Panther Lily then proceed to pull out his Musica Sword from behind his back. "I can definitely say you're anything but a gentleman."

Gajeel stared at Lily, nonplussed, before looking away with an angry expression. "Traitor." Gajeel muttered.

Gajeel kicked open the guild doors of Wendigo Skull, surprising its many members as they were sitting at the round tables that their guild has, mugs of alcohol in their hands. The Dark Guild wasn't much on the outside and it wasn't much on the inside either. It just looked more like a bar with a few pillars holding it up, although at the end of the room there were some stairs that lead to the upper area of the building, but it still wasn't much. As for the members of Wendigo Skull, they were all cloaked figures that looked a little skinny, befitting the creature their guild was supposedly based on.

"It's Gajeel Redfox, Lucy Heartfilia and Panther Lily of Fairy Tail!" One of the dark mages exclaimed in alarm, rising up abruptly from his table. Many of his guild mates had also quickly risen up from their tables, either making small flinches of fear or staring at the three mages with determined and/or angry eyes as magic surrounded their hands, preparing to fight against them.

Footsteps were heard going down the stairs from at the back of the guild, revealing a woman who was only slightly thin and didn't cover herself with a cloak. That is to say that she didn't cover her head or face with the hood, nor did she use it to cover her body, instead it just hanged loosely around her shoulders without concealing her body.

As said before, she was only slightly thin; she barely looked thinner than the average person. She was a tall woman with pale skin, a busty chest and legs that wouldn't quite. She wore a small strap shirt, the straps were of course going over her shoulders, the shirt was a red colour and covered her breasts apart from the top of her cleavage. On her left breast was the horns and mouth of the same silhouetted head seen on the sign outside the building, obviously the guild mark and coloured red. The bottom of her shirt was an upside down 'V' that ended above her bellybutton, which had a ring pierced into it. She wore a long, blue skirt with a vertical line at the right side, revealing the right side of her right leg. Her hair was red and tied into a big curly ponytail, she had baby blue eyes, glossy red lips and had a purple eyeshadow on both of her eyelids.

Lucy had a feeling that, despite her unintimidating appearance, this lady may be the one in charge of the guild. "Hello there, Fairies. I am Theodora, the founder and guild master of this Dark Guild; Wendigo Skull." The lady, Theodora, said.

" _Bingo!_ " Lucy thought as her hunch was right.

Theodora continued to walk down the stairs until she was standing at the bottom floor, her left hand on her hip while her entire right arm layed down at her side, a slight smirk on her face. "It seems you three have made an unexpected visit to our guild. Pray tell, what business do you have coming here?" Theodora asked, focussing on the three mages in front of her, more specifically Gajeel. Although a more appropriate way of saying it is that Theodora was focussing on Gajeel's body, her tongue making a small movement on her lips as she mentally drooled at Gajeel. Theodora's eyes lit up suddenly as her hands grabbed each other in front of her chest. "Have you three grown tired of being weaklings of the light and decided to join the invincible forces of darkness?"

Gajeel snorted. "Not even if you paid me a hundred million Jewel, you old hag." Gajeel said, causing Theodora to move her hands and arms back into their previous position. Theodora was now making a slight glare at Gajeel, tiny sparks of electricity surrounding the woman's fingers. "I ain't abandoning bein' one of the good guys, not now not ever. We're here to beat you and your guild up for stealin' from the hotel and the rest of the town."

Lucy looked at Gajeel in admiration, agreeing tenfold with his words. "I would never abandon Fairy Tail, especially for a guild that would willing hurt and steal from others." Lucy said, holding her Fleuve d'étoiles in one hand while she grabbed Taurus' key and pulled it out with her other. "You're going to regret stealing from Orchid Town when we are done with you."

"If you give up, we'll disband your guild in a more quick and harmless manner." Panther Lily said calmly, making his Musica Sword grow twice his size (or at least just the blade), holding it effortlessly. "But if you refuse and fight back, we'll have to make this unnecessarily harmful for you."

Theodora huffed like some stereotypical posh person towards a ruffian. "We are more than just a Dark Guild, we are much, much more." The guild master said, her entire arms being covered in small lightning bolts as she started to fully activate her magic. "Wendigo Skull is a part of a growing syndicate that becomes stronger with each passing day, a syndicate that will one day engulf the entire world in pure darkness. And now that you dare to try to take us down, Death is crossing your names off his list. Clip these Fairies of their wings and torture them to their deaths."

The many hooded members of Wendigo Skull rushed towards Gajeel, Lucy and Lily, eager to end the Fairy Tail mages' lives.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus." Lucy said as the bovine spirit's key glowed a light as golden as the key itself. The Celestial Spirit appeared from the golden light, hitting the ground with his labrys, causing a shockwave that made nearby Wendigo Skull members fall onto their backs.

"I got called here by your s _moo_ king hot bod, Miss Lucy." Taurus said, looking back at Lucy with a big, perverted grin. Lucy let out a tired sigh, much like with clients, Taurus' perverted comments and attempts of seduction were becoming an old hat for Lucy, the blonde starting to care less and less with each failing word and action of attempted seduction. Gajeel glared at the muscular cow-like entity, squeezing his hand into a tight fist, like he was trying to crush a small object with it. Possessive emotions arose inside Gajeel from an unknown place, a voice from within his head commanding him to attack the cow. Taurus then looked back at the dark mages, his eyes landing on their master. More specifically her voluptuous breasts. Taurus' eyes became big, beating love hearts as a drooling tongue hanged out of his open smile. " _Mooooooooooooo!_ Her udders are so gigantic, the perfect kind of udders!"

Theodora made a snobbish huff, running one of her hands through the side of her head. "Sorry, but I'm not into bestiality." Theodora said, outstretching on if her hands towards the Celestial Spirt. Lightning shot from Theodora's shoulder and up her arm, shooting out of her hand as a bolt. Taurus was quick enough to dodge to bolt, however he forgot that his summoner was behind him; his eyes widening in fear as he remembered.

"Look out, Miss Lucy!" Taurus shouted as he looked back at the blonde as the moving bolt of electricity approached her. Time went in slow speeds as the lightning bolt closed on Lucy, the female mage only hearing her own heartbeat. The lightning bolt was too close and too fast for Lucy to dodge, the blonde wincing as she knew that all she could do was endure the inevitable pain of the attack. Something large from Lucy's side suddenly came close to her and wrapped her around its arm, the bolt of lightning being stopped and destroyed before it could hit her.

Lucy opened her eyes to see that the large thing was Gajeel, his left arm was normal as he wrapped it around her body while his right arm was an iron pole that was in front of them both, smoke coming from the other side. Lucy gasped, Gajeel had - without even a second thought - used himself as a shield for her. Lucy's heart was starting to race again, but this time it wasn't out of fear.

"You okay, Bunny?" Gajeel asked as he looked down at Lucy, even though he kept his sullen expression Lucy could see the worry hidden inside his eyes.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Lucy said. What was it with Gajeel and saving her today? One of the hooded mages ran towards the two Fairy Tail members, a giant battle-axe appearing in his hands, meaning that the mage uses Requip magic. The mage held his battle-axe high as he aimed it at Gajeel's head, the Dragon Slayer unaware as he focussed his attention on Lucy. Lucy got out of Gajeel's hold and swung the whip of her Fleuve d'étoiles at the oncoming mage, knocking him away with a single but powerful hit. Gajeel turned his head around, eyes wide as the Wendigo Skull mage flew back, the Iron Dragon Slayer unaware that he was going to attack.

"Wow, Lucy, you really saved my arse there." Gajeel said, grinning at the blonde. "Guess we're now even."

Theodora signalled her mages to continue their assault, a high number of cloaked mages of varying magics running towards the Fairy Tail mages. Gajeel grinned even more, running towards the oncoming mages, inhaling a vast amount of air before putting his hands in front of his mouth.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel yelled, a tornado of iron shards flying at the cloaked figures. While none of them were cut to tiny pieces, or even cut at all, they were still ingulfed by the metal tornado and sent flying out of it, many of them being unable to fight because of either pain, damage to their bodies or nausea caused by their spinning around in the tornado. Or because of a mixture of those.

Panther Lily was surrounded by a circle of Wendigo Skull members, multiple elements (e.g. fire, water, ice, lightning, sand, metal, etc.) surrounded their hands as they were about to cast their own respective spells on the cat humanoid. With a heavy grunt, Lily swung his enlarged sword around in a circle, slashing at the surrounding mages and knocking them back. A hooded figure wielding a longsword dashed towards Panther Lily, their two blades clashing. Lily and the figure pushed their swords against each other before they were both pushed back by the force that built between their swords.

"I can tell that you're a skilled and trained swordsman, and usually I would respect that." Panther Lily said to the hooded, who just had a mad grin on his face. "However you are also a part of an illegal guild, nevertheless no matter how much I can respect you for your skills I will defeat you here and now."

"Oh really?" The dark wizard said in response, his voice low and gravelly, holding his longsword high. "Then it's a good thing that I ain't using a normal sword either."

A whir of energy surrounded the figure's sword's blade, the metal cutting edge glowing as force and power built up within it. With a mad cackle, the Wendigo Skull member ran towards Lily and swung his longsword down. Lily had managed to jump out of the way of the attack, and the Exceed was greatly happy that he did when the longsword's effects kicked in. A powerful cutting force was let out of the charged blade, making pieces of wood from the floorboards fly into the air as the force kept on going, even after the swing stopped. The cutting force continued to destroy the floorboards as it moved, pushing aside any tables and other guild members of Wendigo Skull. The force hit the wall, even then it continued to move and slice into the ground before finally stopping.

Panther Lily looked at the narrow yet intense damage left by the longsword, the panther looking back at the mage wielding the magical weapon, who was already charging it again. Lily gripped his Musica Sword and jumped at the mage, swinging his swords towards the cloaked man.

Lucy swung her whip at multiple Wendigo Skull mages, the magical, long cord sending them flying. Taurus jumped into the air and once again struck the ground with his labrys, creating a powerful shockwave that caused all nearby dark mages to fly into the air by the shockwave's force. Lucy pulled out another golden Celestial Spirit key. "Open, Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!" Lucy said, a doorbell ding-dong coming from her key as a nearby magic circle appeared.

"Howdy-do, My Lady." Sagittarius said, saluting to the empty air. "What am I needed for?"

A cloaked mage stood in front of Lucy and her Celestial Spirit, the man outstretching both of his arms to the side, fireballs appearing and floating around his body. The cloaked mage then swiftly pointed one of his hands towards Lucy, the fireballs surrounding him shooting towards the blonde. "Take out those fireballs, quickly." Lucy ordered, pointing at the oncoming fireballs.

Sagittarius made a horse-like neigh sound - whilst befitting of his constellation, it was still strange since he was only wearing a costume - as he pulled multiple arrows out of his quiver and aligned them to his bow, pulling the string and arrows back. Sagittarius let go of the arrows and the string of his bow, sending the arrows flying towards the fireballs. The arrows perfectly shot through the oncoming fireballs, destroying the projectiles whilst not losing any speed or strength. In fact some of the arrows gained fire at their ends, amplifying their strength. The fire mage's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he screamed at the arrows flying towards him, not having enough time to escape or defend himself from the arrows, becoming knocked out the instant the arrows made contact with him.

A mage snuck behind Lucy, putting his hands out in front of him as a black magic circle appeared in front of the two open palms. "Dark Fist." The mage said, a giant fist of pure darkness shooting out of the magic seal. Lucy heard the mage and looked back to see the oncoming spell, the blonde barely jumping out of the way. The same mage prepared another Darkness Magic spell, however was stopped when Lucy gave him her trademarked Lucy Kick to the face.

Two cloaked mages appeared in front of Lucy; one had his entire upper face covered by shadows created from his hood, though his eyes glowed green and two haniwa floated beside him, clearly he was a Human Possession mage. The other placed his two palms together, creating a magic circle similar to that of Earth Magic.

"Rock-Make: Raging Bull!" The second of the cloaked mages said, creating a bull made completely out of stone. The fake bovine ran towards Lucy, its horns pointed towards her. Taurus appeared in front of Lucy, destroying the fake bull with one strong swing off his battle-axe.

"The only bull in the world for Miss Lucy is me." Taurus said, resting his axe over his shoulder. "Moo."

"If you are talking about anything sexual or romantic whatsoever then I completely disagree with you." Lucy said, causing Taurus to look back at her. The Human Possession mage, no longer seen by Taurus, made his two haniwa charge a green energy at their 'mouths' and shoot the green energy beams towards the cow-like spirit. Lucy's eyes widened, reaching a hand out towards the Celestial Spirit. "Taurus, look out!"

The Celestial Spirit let out a confused 'Huh' as he looked to towards the sound that was coming close to him, not having enough time to react to the energy beams as they already hit him. Taurus made a yelled of pain, calling back on his rump and almost unconscious. Lucy pulled out her key, forcefully closing Taurus' gate. Lucy glared at the two mages for daring to hurt one of her friends, pulling out the key of one of her stronger spirits. "Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"

"Princess, have I been summoned for punishment?" Virgo asked as she appeared from a golden light, her hands crossed in front of her legs, her face and voice denying all emotion. Though the upper halves of their faces were covered by the hoods of their cloaks, the two Wendigo Skull mages raised an eyebrow at Virgo's bizarre question.

"No!" Lucy exclaimed in embarrassment, her turning red in the emotion. A wicked grin suddenly appeared on Lucy's face, the blonde pointing Virgo's key towards the two mages in front of her. "Instead of being punished yourself, how about you punish those two instead?"

"I'll happily do whatever Princess commands, especially if it means I can be punished in the future." Virgo said impassively as her body descended into the floor. Lucy had no intention of punishing Virgo, ever (punishing someone for doing a good job sounded twisted to Lucy, even if the one being punished wanted it), but said nothing as the maid spirit would probably not listen anyways. The Rock-Make mage and Seith mage in front of Lucy were about to cast another spell, but the floor beneath them ruptured, Virgo appearing from the hole she created. "Spica Hole!"

The two cloaked mages were left unconscious in the hole created by Virgo.

Gajeel turned one of his arms into an iron pole, hitting a Wendigo Skull mage and knocking out more members of the guild as the iron pole pushed the mage into them with great power and force. Gajeel jumped high in the air, his eyes honing in on Theodora, the Iron Dragon Slayer immediately aiming a kick towards the guild master. Theodora smirked, bending her knees before jumping back, dodging Gajeel's attack.

The mid-air Theodora made bright sparks of electricity travel around and between her hands, shooting a large and powerful bolt of thunder towards Gajeel. The Dragon Slayer jumped high in the air, escaping form the fast and powerful lightning bolt by the skin of his teeth. Theodora landed on the stairs, the woman surrounding herself in more lightning; now her entire body was surrounded by the electrical element.

Theodora raised a hand towards Gajeel, the body part and the appendage connected to it being absolutely surrounded by her magic. "Stormy Brigade." Theodora said, multiple arrow-shaped lightning bolts floating next to her. The arrows shot towards Gajeel before he could even react, the black-haired man letting out a loud grunt of pain as his body rolled across the floor from the attack.

Gajeel looked up at Theodora as she walked towards him without even an iota of urgency. " _She's stronger than she looks. I'll have to be serious if I want to defeat her._ " Gajeel thought as he got of the ground, inhaling the Ethernano in the air. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Theodora let out an amused chuckle as the countless shards of sharp iron flew towards her, not even slightly terrified by the incredible shredding capabilities that the roar is known for. Theodora once again surrounded her body in lightning, except she didn't stop when her body was covered by the element, the woman turning her entire body into lightning, just like Laxus sometimes does. Theodora's now lightning-made body easily moved through the iron shards, the lightning moving towards the ceiling and crossing the room to the other side. Gajeel stopped his roar attack, turning around the see the sentient lightning land near the door as Theodora turned herself back into her regular form, a sizeable distance from Gajeel.

Theodora raised her arm high, lightning running up her arm and into a sphere of lightning above the woman's palm. Theodora swiped her arm towards Gajeel, the sphere of lightning shooting towards the Iron Dragon Slayer. Gajeel turned both of his arms into iron poles, crossing them over his body to protect himself from the sphere, the long-haired man managing to stay foot on the floor when the sphere hit him.

" _If I had Laxus' Dragon Slayer Magic, I'd be beatin' this bitch without breaking a sweat._ " Gajeel thought as he uncrossed his arms before shooting one of them at Theodora. The blue-eyed woman once again turned her body into lightning, the body of lightning moving towards Gajeel as it moved as a spiral around the pole that he turned his arm into. Gajeel watched as Theodora travelled closer to him as a spiral lightning moving up his iron arm at incredible speeds. As soon as Theodora reached the end of Gajeel's arm, her lightning body moved off him and went behind him, the Dark Guild master turning herself back into her human body.

"Static Net." Theodora said as she moved an arm towards Gajeel, a spiderweb-shaped net made out of lighting flying towards the Dragon Slayer. Gajeel grunted. barely feeling an pain or even an electrical shock from the spell. Gajeel was about to turn his fist into an iron pole and shoot it towards the red-haired bitch's face, but he had however found himself unable to move his body. Theodora smirked, putting her hands back on her hips as she looked at the obviously confused and struggling Gajeel. "Static Net is a special spell of mine that, whilst greatly lacking in the offensive department, almost always keeps my target unable to move their bodies."

Gajeel grunted as he tried to move, but to no avail. Theodora made a dark smile at the man as he glared at her, outstretching an arm towards him and shooting a powerful bolt of lightning at him, knocking him on his back. Gajeel tried to get back up and off his back, however his muscles wouldn't listen to his commands; the static effect of Theodora's net spell still active.

Theodora stepped on Gajeel's stomach, pushing her foot down as she kept a wicked grin on her face. "It's such a shame, really. Maybe even the biggest shame of my life. You were quite the specimen, Gajeel, even when you were one of Phantom Lord. With your hot body and incredible strength, you would have made an excellent husband." Theodora said, raising her hand in the air. Lightning was building in her hand, creating a bright and powerful force of lightning that continued to grow in both size and strength. "However it seems that you are trying to get rid of the guild that I created, and you continued to stay on the weak side, the light side. Thus you are now my enemy, and I will have to add your name to the list of enemies that I killed. And believe me when I say that it's a very long list."

Gajeel tried more than ever to move his body, but it was still to no effect. Gajeel gave up, closing his eyes and accepting his fate. Gajeel's life was flashing in his eyes at unimaginable speeds.

Being found by Metalicana... Being trained by The Iron Dragon... Waking up to find that he was 'abandoned' by the dragon... Being found by Jose and taken to Phantom Lord... The years he spent at that guild, becoming wicked and twisted by Jose... growing stronger and becoming one of Phantom Lord's strongest mages... Destroying the Fairy Tail guild for Phantom... Hurting Levy, Jet and Droy and pining them to a tree... His battle against Salamander that happened shortly after... His rematch and defeat at Salamander's hands... Joining Fairy Tail... Then the battle when Laxus tried to take over...

Everything to when he and Levy started dating and becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Those happy moments that he still treasured... then when he started loosing the spark and the break-up happened... Then there was the pain caused by the break-up...

And then everything he saw had changed. All that Gajeel now saw was Lucy, naked and looking away from him. Lucy turned around, giving Gajeel a kind and loving smile. Gajeel's eyes shot open, still seeing Theodora stand over him. That definitely wasn't a memory he saw, and it was making his heart beat like no tomorrow.

"I hope you enjoyed your life, because you won't be having it anymore." Theodora said, ready to kill Gajeel with the lightning in her hand. However, before the evil wizard could kill Gajeel, a water-like whip entangled around her ankle. Theodora and Gajeel stared at the whip in surprise, tracing it to see the it was from Lucy, the whip being her Fleuve d'étoiles.

Lucy swung her whip with intense force, sending Theodora flying off of Gajeel and causing the woman to land abruptly on the floor. Theodora growled at Lucy as she got off the floor, the blonde unfazed by the angry woman as Sagittarius stood beside her. "Sagittarius, strike her quick!" Lucy ordered, pointing at Theodora. The archer Celestial Spirit aimed multiple arrows at Theodora, shooting them towards her. The lightning mage let out a shrill, angry roar as she surrounded herself in lightning and shot multiple powerful bolts from her body, destroying the arrows and shooting towards Lucy and Sagittarius. Lucy and her Celestial Spirit jumped out of the thunderbolts, the blonde rolling on the ground until she stopped herself with her hand, smirking at Theodora.

Theodora and Gajeel were confused by the blonde's smirk, although that confusion ceased when Virgo shot out from beneath the floor, giving Theodora and unexpected punch into the gut. Theodora fell onto her back onto the ground, however Virgo kept on going upwards until she reached to ceiling. Virgo stopped herself as she pressed her hands against the ceiling, looking down at Theodora with her same stoic face (although Gajeel could swear that he saw determination in her eyes).

Virgo jumped down to the Dark Guild master, leaving another hole in the floor, taking Theodora down it with her. The static restricting Gajeel's movements disappeared, allowing the man to regain control of his body. The ground beneath the guild suddenly started to shake, causing Gajeel to feel sick as his body shook from the shaking ground.

A burst of lightning shot out from the hole Virgo created, the aforementioned spirit shooting out of the hole and falling onto the floor, her body smoking and burnt.

"Virgo!" Lucy cried out in alarm. Without a second thought, Lucy ran to the Celestial Spirit, kneeling down beside her as Virgo got up.

"I'm still fine, Princess. I can endure a lot of pain, that's why I like being punished." Virgo responded, looking and sounding as emotionless as ever. The pink-haired maid looked towards the hole she was shot out of, lightning coming out of it and striking the ground, turning back into Theodora, who had a hate-filled glower.

"I'll make you pay for that in death, you bitch!" Theodora yelled as she placed her hand in front of herself, a magic seal appearing. "Raijū's Hunger!" Theodora yelled as a giant wolf head made of lightning appeared from the magic seal, shooting towards Lucy with its mouth wide open, like it was aiming to eat the blonde. Virgo grabbed hold of her summoner, using her magic to create a hole underneath them, barely escaping from the wolf made of electricity. Lucy heard Sagittarius let out a scream of pain from above the hole, the blonde immediately rushing out of the hole.

Lucy got out of the hole and saw Sagittarius curled into a ball in pain, his body and costume looking burnt from the lightning attack. Lucy pulled out Sagittarius' key, forcing his gate to close and sending him back to the Celestial Spirit World. Lucy glared at Theodora. Virgo stood next to her master, her expression impassive with some determination that was definitely in her eyes.

"Alright, Virgo, lets take her down." Lucy said, swinging her Fleuve d'étoiles at the lightning mage. Theodora jumped out of the way of the celestial whip, lightning running up her arms as she shot a thunderbolt at the Celestial Spirit mage and her spirit. Lucy rolled out of the way of the beam of lightning while Virgo ran towards Theodora, dodging the lightning attack.

Virgo stopped in front of Theodora, slamming her hands onto the ground. "Spica Lock!" Virgo said as a magic circle appeared underneath her hands. Rocks of various shapes and sizes erupted out of the ground from under the floor, the rocks flying towards Theodora and sealing her in a giant ball made of rocks.

Lightning began to erupt from inside the Spica Lock, the many rocks forming the sphere breaking apart and shooting away as Theodora surrounded herself in her own sphere; a sphere of lightning. Thunder could be heard outside the (honestly trashed) guild. Lightning shot out from above the ceiling, almost hitting Lucy. The aforementioned blonde watched as Theodora made a roar of rage, sending lightning to randomly strike from above the ceiling without focussing on any specific targets. Lucy dodged the bolts of lightning and debris of the guild's former roof as Theodora had seemingly succumbed to her rage and was randomly hitting the areas around her, proved as she didn't react to the fact that either her lightning bolts or the debris falling because of the lightning bolts were hitting the members of her guild.

When Theodora had regained control of herself, the roof of her guild had been completely destroyed, showing only the thundercloud that she created with her magic, though that same cloud was beginning to dissipate; showing a clear blue sky. Usually a clear blue sky would make someone think of the world being calm, but what was going on between Lucy and Theodora was anything but.

Theodora shot a gigantic beam of lightning at Lucy, creating a giant cloud of dust. "Bunny!" Gajeel exclaimed in surprise and horrified sadness, reaching an arm out to the spot where Lucy was, though he couldn't move his feet. She was gone; the Light of Fairy Tail was extinguished. Lucy was dead! Gajeel's red eyes focussed on Theodora, the pupils of his eyes becoming slits as unimaginable, seething anger rose within him as he looked at the bitch that took Lucy's life. He'll make her pay, he'll make her pay in blood! Once he is done with her, she won't even-!

Lucy jumped out of the dust cloud, only slightly damage. Theodora and Gajeel were both surprised that the blonde survived, though the latter felt his anger go away and be replaced by relief. Lucy aimed her Fleuve d'étoiles at Theodora, the whip smacking the Lightning mage across the face. Lucy aimed the celestial whip at Theodora again, however the dark mage managed to catch it in the hand. Electricity surrounded Theodora's hand before travelling up the whip at high speeds, striking Lucy. The blonde let out a scream of pain, her body falling against the ground as she looked at Theodora, the mage looking rather exhausted from all the magic power she was using up.

"I don't know how a weakling like you could have survived that attack..." Theodora said, gasping for air as she was greatly exhausted. "But you have now lost... Fairy."

Gajeel tuned his arm into an iron pole, ready to hit Theodora, however he was stopped as he heard Lucy laugh. It wasn't her usual cheery laugh, but rather a mischievous giggle. The Iron Dragon Slayer and Wendigo Skull guild master looked at Lucy in confusion.

"What is so funny?!" Theodora asked angrily. Lucy closed her eyes, only to open them again as not her eyes. Lucy's eyes were black and beady with white pupils, her voice changing as she continued to giggle. Lucy's body suddenly turned into a puff of smoke, the smoke clearing to reveal two small, blue-coloured, floating creatures that did a little dance with their arms. Gajeel recognised these spirits as Gemini, the spirits that can transform into Bunny Girl and anyone weaker than her. Theodora stared at the two creatures in confusion. "What?!"

A gust of dust appeared behind Theodora, the dust clearing as Lucy - the real Lucy - ran out of it and towards Theodora, the red-haired woman turning around to see the blonde as she let out a little battle cry. "Lucy Kick!" Lucy yelled as she kicked Theodora's face. Theodora made a yell of pain as she rolled across the floor, moving her upper body up and glaring at Lucy. Theodora outstretched an arm towards Lucy, lightning crackling between her fingers as she was going to electrocute the blonde. However, to Theodora's surprise, the sparks shot out as only sparks - not turning into beams of lightning - quickly dying as they left her hand.

"H... how?" Theodora said as she looked at her hand, trying to use more than just a simple sparks, however nothing could evolve beyond those sparks.

"Looks like you used up all of your magical energy." Lucy said triumphantly, her hands on her hips.

Theodora grimaced at Lucy, though she didn't get off the floor. "So, what? Did you forget that many in my guild are still standing?" Theodora said, gesturing towards the many members of Wendigo Skull that were still standing, looking eager to attack Lucy. "Just because you managed to best _me_ doesn't mean that the battle is over yet."

Lucy looked around at the many dark mages as they raised their weapons and prepared their magics. Lucy felt pretty exhausted herself, if she wanted to defeat them then she'll have to do it in one fell swoop. She'll have to use that spell.

"Virgo, Gemini, I'm closing your gates. I'll need all the magic power I have if I want to successfully cast this spell." Lucy said as she held out the two Celestial Spirits' keys. Gemini turned into Lucy and waved her goodbye while Virgo bowed as they both glowed a yellow light before disappearing as a pile of golden bubbles. Lucy outstretched both of her arms sideways, a golden magic circle appearing underneath her as she spoke:

 _"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens..._

 _All the stars, far and wide..._

 _Show me thy appearance.._

 _With such shine."_

The clear blue sky changed, looking more like it was outer space with multiple multi-coloured spheres floating in it. In fact the entire area looked like it suddenly became outer space with multi-coloured spheres. The Wendigo Skull members were left shaking as they dropped their weapons, paralyzed by both fear and surprise at the completely sudden change in scenery. Gajeel recognised this spell, it was her Urano Metria spell.

Gajeel only saw it at the Grand Magic Games, and even then he didn't get to see it fully as that Raven Tail scumbag fully depleted Lucy of all her magic. This may actually be the first time Gajeel would actually see the spell from beginning to end.

 _"Oh Tetrabiblos..._

 _I am the ruler of the stars..._

 _Aspect become complete..._

 _Open thy malevolent gate._

 _Oh 88 Stars of the heavens..._

 _Shine!_

 ** _Urano Metria!_**

The multi-coloured spheres shot down to the ground towards Theodora and the Wendigo Skull members, explosions of tremendous power releasing as the spheres hit the ground, the members of Wendigo Skull flying in the air at the devastating power of Urano Metria.

Gajeel's mouth was agape and his eyes bulged out in awe as he witnessed the power of Lucy's spell. The Dragon Slayer looked at the Celestial Spirit mage, her arms still outstretched as she continued to cast the spell to the very end. Gajeel would have never guessed that Lucy was capable of this back when he abducted her when he was still a part of Phantom Lord. Then again, she wasn't that strong and didn't know the spell back then. Still though, Gajeel felt something within him swell with pride as he saw what Lucy was capable of. And for some reason, a part of him wanted her. Not in the sexual way, not her body. A part of Gajeel just wanted Lucy, just wanted the blonde to himself.

The spell stopped and the world returned to normal, every last member of Wendigo Skull laying unconscious on the ground. Lucy's arms fell from where they were outstretched, and then the blonde collapsed. Gajeel ran towards Lucy, the Iron Dragon Slayer crouching down and holding Lucy in his arms. Panther Lily appeared next to Gajeel and Lucy, transforming back into his small body, but Gajeel ignored the Exceed as he focussed on Lucy.

"Bunny? Are you awake, Lucy?" Gajeel asked in concern as he looked at the blonde he was holding. Lucy shifted and squirmed as she forced herself to wake up, her eyelids opening to reveal her chocolate brown eyes.

"Did it work?" Lucy asked, not caring nor reacting to the fact that she was being held in Gajeel's muscular arms. "Did Urano Metria take them out?"

"It did, Bunny. You took out the entire guild." Gajeel replied softly, giving Lucy a genuine smile, much like the one he gave her that morning when she gave him breakfast. Gajeel's smile then turned into a wide grin. "That was a very kick-ass spell you did there, Bunny! Now I know I want to form a team with you."

Lucy rolled her eyes at Gajeel's words, although it was in amusement. Lucy still considered herself as a member of Team Natsu, even though it seemed like that aforementioned team no longer existed. It's not... that Lucy didn't want to form a team with Gajeel The Loner, in fact a part of her was actually okay with forming a team with him. In fact... that part of her was actually jumping at the idea of being in a team with the Iron Dragon Slayer. Maybe... she'll sleep on it for a few days.

Lucy looked at Gajeel and Panther Lily, the two males smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. A groan was suddenly heard from behind Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer, Lily and Lucy looking to see Theodora getting off the ground. "You gotta be fucking shittin' me!" Gajeel swore as the guild master rose back to her feet. Though rose could be an overstatement. It was more like she stumbled up, her knees bent and her back hunched, the Lightning mage staring at Lucy with a myriad of emotions, most prominently fear and anger. Gajeel growled at Theodora angrily, turning one of his arms into an iron pole and putting it in front of Lucy protectively, if that bitch dare try to harm even a single hair on Lucy's head, Gajeel will make her pay.

"How... how did you do that?" Theodora asked, her voice holding the same fear and anger that could be seen in her eyes. The woman stumbled back, and before Lucy, Gajeel or Panther Lily could do or say anything, she turned into lightning and disappeared. Gajeel stared at the space where Theodora once was, holding Lucy in his arms bridal style.

"You know... I think I really hate that woman." Gajeel said, holding Lucy close to him. Gajeel felt like some invisible, intangible being that was secretly living inside him wrapped itself around Lucy protectively, and Gajeel liked that.

"We should call the Magic Council so they can send Rune Knights to arrest these mages for thievery and for being a part of a Dark Guild." Panther Lily said, using his Aera magic to fly up near Gajeel and Lucy. "But we'll have to do something to restrain them until the Rune Knights arrive."

"I am already on it." A familiar, impassive voice said, the three Fairy Tail mages turning to where the voice came from to see Virgo tying up multiple unconscious Wendigo Skull members in a golden, magical rope from the Celestial Spirit World. The maid spirit looked at the mages, her expression still lacking emotion. "Don't worry, I'm here on my own magical power. I highly advise that Princess doesn't use any of her magic for a couple of hours, at the least. Princess used up a powerful spell that requires a vast amount of magic power when she barely had any left. As it stands, Princess is lucky to even be conscious at the moment."

"Oh." Lucy said as Virgo continued to tie up the dark wizards in golden rope. Most of the other members of the Dark Guild (all unconscious) were tied up in Celestial Spirit World rope. "I'm sorry, Virgo."

"It is alright, I am just happy that you're still alive." Virgo said. The maid then looked at Gajeel, a serious glare could be seen in her otherwise emotionless eyes as she made eye contact with the Dragon Slayer. "Make sure that she stays safe, she means much to us."

Gajeel nodded. All of the Wendigo Skull mages were tied up in the golden rope, Virgo made a bow before she disappeared back into her home dimension. Gajeel grunted, carrying Lucy as he exited the guild (or the ruins that remain of thereof).

"You know... you don't have to carry me all the way back to the hotel." Lucy said as Gajeel continued to carry her bridal style through the forest. "I think I can walk now."

"You heard the maid, you're lucky that you're awake right now." Gajeel said, sounding calm as he looked at the blonde he was holding. "Besides I don't mind carrying you. Do you want me to stop carryin' you."

"N... no." Lucy said as she looked away, the skin on her cheeks turning a red colour.

Lily observed the interactions between Gajeel and Lucy, his heart fluttering as he watched them. The two mages were in love with each other and didn't know how they really felt for each other. Or at least that is how Panther Lily saw it. And the cat-like being was now determined that he would bring them together. Lily was starting to understand why Mirajane liked to play matchmaker a lot, if this feeling of wanting two people together is what she felt on a near-daily basis, then Lily was starting to understand Mirajane's obsession with her 'ships'. Although Panther Lily wasn't really used to this whole 'shipping' thing, so maybe he'll just stick to 'shipping' Gajeel and Lucy.

"So, Bunny Girl..." Gajeel said, looking down at the blonde before looking back at where he was going. "When do you think you'll be able to regain your energy?"

Lucy looked up at the sky, seeing that it was still all blue, though it was clear that it was becoming evening. Even then, it will be a while before it's even dusk. "Hopefully in time for us to have our... fun." The Celestial Spirit mage replied, a strange feeling of safeness within her as Gajeel held her bridal style.

* * *

"Ah, I take that you successfully stopped the bandits?" Stephan Deltrio asked as he saw Gajeel, Lucy and Lily returning, his eyes widening as he saw how exhausted Lucy looked as Gajeel carried. Stephan approached Lucy, thought Gajeel twisted his body to keep the man from touching the blonde, some weird possessive feeling within him making him want the hotel owner to be as far away from Lucy as possible. "Oh my, is she okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. And we got them all tied up back at their base." Lucy answered before Gajeel could say anything. "Turns out that the bandits were a part of a Dark Guild."

Stephan looked alarmed. "I had no idea, if I did then I would have paid more Jewel for the reward." The brown-haired man said. "Do you wish for me to pay higher than said on the request sheet?"

Gajeel grunted. "Don't ask me, ask Bunny Girl." Gajeel said, refusing to let go of Lucy. "She's the one that picked the mission, and she's the one that took out the entire guild in one spell."

"Did you really?" Stephan exclaimed at Lucy in surprise.

"Yes." Lucy answered. The blonde forced herself out of Gajeel's arms, landing on her feet. Lucy stumbled, bending her right knee as the leg quickly lost its power and strength. Gajeel put his arms around Lucy protectively, and Lily moved in front of the Celestial Spirit mage in case she needed his help. Lucy waved her hands at them dismissively, the blonde standing up one her own. "I think that the 300,000 Jewel is still enough. Thank you."

Stephan smiled, thanking the Fairy Tail mages and telling them that they will receive their reward tomorrow morning. With that the hotel owner walked away, to where and for what, Gajeel didn't know nor care. Lucy, Gajeel and Panther Lily decided to make their way back to their room. As soon as they made it to the room, Lucy unlocked it with the hotel key, the blonde rushing inside and raking off her leather boots, laying her back down on the king-sized bed. Lucy's arms were outstretched to her sides as she let out a relieved moan, the woman practically sinking into her bed. Lucy let out a little, quiet sound of relief before she fell asleep.

Gajeel and Panther Lily watched Lucy as she slept on the bed, looking so peaceful and relaxed as she was in her slumber. The Dragon Slayer took the rucksack off the bed, wanting to give Lucy more room on the bed to sleep. Gajeel reached inside the bag, pulling out a small, plastic, see-through box of nails. Gajeel slumped down on one of the one-person beds, his back against the wall as he opened the box and began eating the nails inside.

* * *

The sun had already disappeared over the horizon when Lucy woke up, the blonde surprised to see Gajeel sleeping next to her, one of his arms hanging over her busty body. Lucy also saw Panther Lily, curled up like a cat and sleeping next to one of her legs. This reminded Lucy of the mornings where she used to wake up with Natsu hugging her and Happy sleeping next to her like a cat, except those times she would usually kick them off of her and sometimes just throw them out of her house.

However, she didn't do that with Gajeel or Panther Lily. Instead, Lucy moved the hand that was close to Lily towards him, stroking the panther-like entity as he slept. The sleeping Exceed purred as Lucy continuously ran her fingers and nails over his body. Lucy was mentally screaming at the adorable sight, it was hard to imagine that Panther Lily was technically a warrior.

Lucy heard a deep grunt beside her, the Celestial Spirit mage turning her head to see Gajeel waking up, a smile growing on Lucy's face. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Lucy joked as Gajeel stared at her with his red eyes, his usual frown on his face.

"It's night-time, Bunny." Gajeel responded, getting off of the bed. Gajeel turned his head to a clock that sat on a small cupboard that sat between the king-sized bed and one of the one-person beds. "It's about after seven in the afternoon, we still have plenty of time for dinner and... you know what."

The Iron Dragon Slayer walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, the sounds of a running shower coming afterwards. Lucy shifted onto her side and continued petting Panther Lily, the Exceed yawning as he woke up. Panther Lily stretched his stiff bones before sitting down, wherein Lucy continued to pet the cat-like entity, not that he minded or protested.

After a while the bathroom door opened, Lucy entered as Gajeel left, closing the door behind her before stripping off her clothing and entering the shower.

* * *

 **Author's Note: How's that?**

 **I honestly don't know what to say right now, except that you should expect to see Theodora make a return later on in this story. Farewell for now.**


	4. The Night Is Still Young

Lucy turned the faucet of her shower, the water spraying onto her nude body. At first Lucy had shivered as the droplets pelting against her body had felt so chillingly cold, but the water began to heat up; becoming warm before becoming hot. Lucy let out a relaxed sigh, squirting the hotel shampoo into her open palm before rubbing her hands together, the blonde then proceeding to rub the liquid preparation into her golden hair. The droplets trailed down Lucy's body, the bubbly liquid joining and mixing with them as it had also trailed down Lucy's body. As the shampoo was washing out of Lucy's hair, the buxom Celestial Spirit mage grabbed a bar of soap that was also provided by the hotel, scrubbing it over her body, a serene smile growing on Lucy's face.

There was a loud knocking at the bathroom door, snapping Lucy out of her little trance. "Yo, Bunny, can ya hear me?" Gajeel asked from behind the door, his voice was well audible.

"Yeah, I can hear you." Lucy responded, continuing to scrub herself with the bar of soap. Gajeel was quiet for a while, Lucy stopped as she looked at the door, wondering if Gajeel was unable to hear her despite his superhuman levels of hearing.

"Listen, I've already decided what we're having for dinner." Gajeel said from behind the door. Lucy let out a small giggle, Gajeel's choice of words almost made it sound like they have been married for a couple years now. Lucy quickly stopped her giggle as her heart responded to the thought, a series of warm beats resonating within her body at the thought of being married with Gajeel. Lucy shook her head, trying to get the images of her and Gajeel being in a romantic relationship out of her head so she could regain control of her crazy heart. "We're goin' to a restaurant that's not far from here. I'm paying."

"Okay." Lucy responded, trying to hide the sudden shy feelings within that came inexplicably. Lucy was silent and scrubbed the bar of soap over her body slowly as she tried to get those images out of her head. Just the mere thoughts of her and Gajeel being something more than friends, being a boyfriend and a girlfriend, kissing each other with passion instead of lust. Snuggling up to him on a cold, late night, reading a good novel with a cup of hot tea or cocoa while Gajeel would probably fall asleep. Her regularly cooking him breakfast and taking missions with him and Lily. The large Iron Dragon Slayer nuzzling into her neck as he whispered his feelings of love for her into her ear. And then there was the image of her and Gajeel, hand in hand, walking happily together as they were surrounded by children that were so obviously theirs. Lucy barely felt the energy to stand, her hand to her thumping heart as those images of her and Gajeel refused to leave her head. Lucy saw a golden glow come from the side of her vision, the blonde looking to see her familiar pink-haired maid. "Virgo?"

The Celestial Spirit remained stoic as she laid down some clothing and makeup on the dry parts of the bathroom floor before looking up at her master, the spirit having summoned herself for her own reasons. "I have prepared the clothes and makeup for your date with Sir Gajeel." Virgo said. "When you are done washing you can dress yourself the way you like."

Lucy was silent, her mind processing Virgo's choice of words. "It's not a date, it's just dinner!" Lucy yelled, her mind processing what the Zodiac meant in her words. "And what's with the sudden formalities? I literally think the first time you said a word to him was today, and he didn't even say a word back."

"I'm sorry, as a loyal spirit I'm meant to carry honorifics to my master's significant other." Virgo apologised, though her face and voice remained emotionless. "Should I be punished?"

"Since when were Gajeel and I significant others?" Lucy questioned, turning the shower faucet to turn the shower off. Lucy stepped out of the shower, her foot landing on a bath mat, water dripping from her hair and her naked body and onto the bath mat. Lucy grabbed a towel and immediately started drying herself with it. "And you know I hate it when I'm called master. I see you Celestial Spirits as friends, not as slaves."

"Punishment?" Virgo asked again. Lucy slapped her palm against her forehead, sighing in annoyance. "Oh yeah, and I'm afraid that you cannot summon Big Brother for a while. After hearing what you and Sir Gajeel did last night, he was adamant about beating Sir Gajeel into a bloody pulp. The Celestial Spirit King was forced to lock Big Brother's gate, making it impossible for him to leave the Celestial Spirit World from his own power or from yours, until he calms down."

" _Great, so the strongest spirit I have a contract with is unusable until he calms down from his hissy fit._ " Lucy thought in an annoyed yet completely inner tone. What's worse is that Loke can not only be a little stubborn from time to time, but the time in the Celestial Spirit World is a lot slower than the time in Lucy's dimension, so Loke will probably be unable to be used for at least a few months until he calms down and Stache Face will unlock his gate again. " _It's amazing how there are people in this universe that you can love with all your heart while simultaneously utterly despising them._ "

"I sincerely hope that you enjoy your night with Sir Gajeel." Virgo said, her body once again glowing as she was beginning to return to her home dimension. Before she disappeared from Lucy's dimension, Virgo smiled and winked suggestively at the blonde before disappearing as only a few sparkles of light.

Lucy sighed in annoyance. " _Why do I always get the crazy nutjobs?_ " She thought to herself, drying off her body. Lucy dried off her feet before putting the now wet towel on the towel rack, letting it dry. Lucy approached the clothes and makeup left by Virgo, bending down to look at them. They were a sleeve-less, black crop top and a red miniskirt that should end above Lucy's knees. There was also some eyeliner and red lipstick. Lucy puffed her cheeks before letting out a small, annoyed splutter; it seems as though Virgo was adamant about making this a date between Lucy and Gajeel. And that meant that dinner - emphasis on _dinner_ , not _date_ (!) - was most likely gonna be insufferable.

Lucy sighed in defeat though, Virgo had apparently decided to take the clothes that Lucy had on earlier back to the Celestial Spirit World with her. Luckily though, the masochist decided to leave Lucy's bra and panties alone. Lucy put on the undergarments first, before proceeding onto her crop top and miniskirt. Lucy noticed a small band under the miniskirt as she picked it up. After the skirt was on, Lucy picked up the hairband, letting out a little sigh of defeat and using it to tie all her hair into a ponytail. Lucy eyed the lipstick and the eyeliner that continued to lay on the floor, picking the two items up and scrutinizing them. Lucy placed the eyeliner on the sink's side, looking at herself in the mirror above the sink. Lucy took off the lipstick's lid, opening her mouth as she pressed the red stick against her lips, changing them into the same aforementioned colour. When Lucy finished applying the lipstick, she pressed her lips together before separating them, making a popping sound.

Lucy looked down at the eyeliner; she wasn't planning on putting it on. Hell, even the lipstick felt like overkill since she was only going to have _dinner_ with a _friend_. Lucy turned her head back to the bathroom door; Gajeel hadn't made a single sound or anything else since he said he was taking Lucy to a restaurant. Either he had some hidden patience that no one knew about, or he just decided to go without her. Lucy looked back at the eyeliner. She would most likely look overdressed at whatever restaurant _Gajeel_ was planning on taking her to, so it was would be best for her to not put it on. Lucy walked to the bathroom's door, halfway there when she looked back at the eyeliner, the cosmetic seemingly calling to her. Lucy looked back at the door before returning her sight to the eyeliner.

" _Fuck it, I'll put the eyeliner on._ " Lucy thought as she applied the eyeliner on. Lucy looked at her reflection in the mirror, smiling as she ran her hand against the side of her hand. " _Man, I am looking good._ "

Lucy's eyes widened in realization of what she was doing, the blonde whacking her forehead with her fist. Lucy turned around, took a deep breath, and made her way out of the bathroom.

When Lucy exited the bathroom she saw Gajeel leaning against the closet, boredly holding a sheet of metal with a bitemark in it in one hand while he was eating something, most likely the piece that was bit out. Gajeel was wearing a black muscle shirt, one that made Lucy rub her thighs together as heat was beginning to build in the area between them. While it shouldn't have shown more of Gajeel's upper body than his regular shirt, the muscle shirt was tight, bringing out the definitions of the Dragon Slayer's ripped physique. It wasn't helped that the arm that was holding the sheet of metal was bent, causing one of the Iron Dragon Slayer's biceps to flex. Lucy had to stop the drool from coming out of the sight of the glorious arm muscle. Despite that, Gajeel wore the same pants and boots.

Gajeel's nostrils flared as he smelled Lucy's scent. The Dragon Slayer swallowed down the metal in his mouth before looking at Lucy. Gajeel's eyes widened as he looked at Lucy, a lump forming in his throat that he needed to swallow down like he did with the metal. The crop top that the blonde wore must have been made to expose her cleavage, as Gajeel could perfectly see the space between her two boobs. The miniskirt that Lucy wore didn't expose her legs anymore than her jean shorts did, but for some reason they made emotions arise within Gajeel. But what truly caught Gajeel's attention was Lucy's lips. The red lipstick was almost like a beacon for Gajeel, his eyes focussing on how soft and kissable Lucy's lips looked. The Iron Dragon Slayer had to bite his bottom lip as the temptation to kiss Lucy, not in lust but in something else, was starting to appear. And it didn't stop with just appearing, the temptation was almost like a heavy weight that was trying to drive Gajeel to claim Lucy's lips as his property... and then claim the blonde in general.

But Gajeel knew what that temptation alluded to and he was going to have none of it, he didn't care that he could start tasting the metallic flavour of his own blood coming from the bottom lip. Gajeel's love life is sleeping in a coffin and will stay there even when the Dragon Slayer kicks the bucket, and he's not letting Lucy change that adamant decision. Gajeel and Lucy were friends with benefits, not lovers. They weren't even best friends. For the love of all that is real in this world, Gajeel and Lucy aren't even _good_ friends! Gajeel may care for Lucy more than he does for his other 'friends', but that bar is honestly low. Gajeel wasn't letting someone that he barely even talked to make him fall in love again.

"Sorry that I look so overdressed." Lucy said rather nervously, rubbing the back of her head. Gajeel smiled at Lucy, forgetting about his earlier frustration from his adamance to _not_ fall in love again. She just looked so... cute.

"Yeah, I heard your chat with your maid from outside." Gajeel said. Lucy made a hilarious flabbergasted expression at Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer laughing in response; his eyes closed and his mouth wide open. Lucy found herself watching Gajeel's muscles as they shook slightly with his rumbling laughter. Lucy diverted her eyes back to Gajeel's face before he opened his eyes and started tapping his ears. "Dragon Slayer hearing, Bunny. I agree that you an' I aren't datin', we're just friends. Though Sir Gajeel has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?"

"No, I don't." Lucy said. There was a faint light and a quiet sound of a doorbell ringing beneath Gajeel and Lucy, the two humans looking to see a pair of black high heels, thigh-high fishnet stockings and a paper note. Lucy picked up the note, reading it:

 _More wear for your dinner with Sir Gajeel._

 _Enjoy, Princess._

 _-V_

"What does it say?" Gajeel asked, looking over Lucy's shoulder. The blonde handed the small note to Gajeel, the black-haired man letting out an amused chuckle as he read it. As Gajeel was reading the note, Lucy picked up the fishnets and the heels, the Celestial Spirit mage putting them on because it was too late to start resisting what Virgo was giving her. Lucy looked around the room, noticing the lack of a certain Exceed.

"Where's Lily?" Lucy asked, Gajeel shrugged in response.

"Dunno." Gajeel answered, shoving the rest of the sheet of metal in his mouth and eating it. "Lily was the one that suggested the restaurant, after that he flew out of the window and I haven't seen him since."

"Oh... And I'm guessing he was also the one that suggested that you pay for the dinner?"

"No, that was purely my own decision." Gajeel replied, the man walking to the door of his and Lucy's hotel room, opening it. Gajeel turned towards Lucy and gestured an arm towards her, his hand open; expecting Lucy's. "Ready for your dinner with Sir Gajeel?"

Lucy snorted at Gajeel in amusement. "I'd never call you Sir Gajeel, even if I had a gun pointing at my forehead."

* * *

Lucy and Gajeel walked through the streets of Orchid Town, the darkened urban area lit up by streetlights and stood along its many paths. Despite the high heels she was wearing, Lucy was practically skipping down the street as she gazed at the many lights that made Orchid look beautiful at night. Gajeel couldn't help but smile as he watched Lucy, his hands in his pockets, the blonde was so damn adorable and beautiful. And yet she could easily be very sexy when she wanted to.

Unfortunately, the two Fairy Tail mages' sexy bodies and choice of clothing had attracted the attention of people who were walking by; both inhabitants and visitors alike.

"Hey there, big, buff and sexy." Said a sexual voice. Gajeel was approached by a blue-haired woman with a bob cut, wearing a whole cut shirt and tight, leather trousers. Her high heels tapped against the cobblestone ground, swapping her hips as she approached Gajeel. Lucy stopped skipping, turning around to look at the woman as she approached the Iron Dragon Slayer. The woman lowered her body slightly, squeezing her breasts with her arms to make them stick out a little bit. Lucy didn't know why, but she felt angry as she watched this woman try to flirt with Gajeel, the Celestial Spirit mage reaching for Cancer's key.

Gajeel just stared down at the woman, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed as he looked at her without interest. If she tried her trick a week ago, it would have worked. But now Gajeel was planning on doing it with Lucy, and this whore couldn't compare to the blonde beauty he was with. "You're in my way." Gajeel said, a smile playing up his lips as he saw the look of surprise and defeat on her face. Gajeel walked past the woman, hoping to catch up with Lucy, however the woman put herself between the two mages again.

"You don't understand, the night is young..." The woman started, doing a pose as she winked at Gajeel. "And I can make this the best night you could ever have."

"Get lost." Gajeel said as he passed by the woman again, this time pushing her with one hand, before approaching Lucy, the Dragon Slayer wrapping his arm around the blonde's body. Lucy smiled, feeling her inexplicable anger fade away, though she kept Cancer's key out in case if the blue-haired woman didn't get the message. "I'm already with someone, and they're much better than you."

The woman gawked at Gajeel as he held his arms around Lucy, the blue-haired floozy glaring abhorrently at Lucy. "You... you would call _her_ a better woman than me?!" The woman yelled indignantly, pointing at Lucy like she wasn't listening to the conversation. "Puh-lease, I'm infinitely better than _she_ can ever be. She can't compare to me, even in her wildest dreams."

Lucy felt Gajeel's arm around her tighten, a growl coming from his massive frame. Lucy looked up at Gajeel, seeing the anger in his eyes. Lucy could tell that Gajeel wanted to punch the woman (to say the least). And whilst she could understand, she wanted to prove herself better than the woman on her own. "Calm down, Gajeel." Lucy said softly as she removed Gajeel's arm from around her body, her voice calming down the Iron Dragon Slayer's nerves. "I'll handle her."

The woman let out a huff, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared hatefully at Lucy. "Like you could fight, Blondie."

"My name is Lucy." Lucy said calmly, pulling out on of her golden keys and pointing it towards the real bimbo. "I have no need to actually fight you, especially after what I just did today. Open, Gate of the Giant Crab, Cancer."

The woman looked nonplussed when she saw a man that looks like a hairdresser suddenly appear in front of her, not helped that he was wielding crab-like scissors and had crab legs growing out of his back. "Lucy, do you want a trip around the edges? Baby." Cancer said as he snipped at the air with his scissors. Gajeel watched Lucy with concern appearing on his face as he saw her summon a spirit. After remembering what happened after she casted Urano Metria, as well as what Virgo warned him, Gajeel couldn't help but worry that she was going to run out of magic and pass out from summoning the spirit, especially since he was a golden key spirit instead of a silver key. A worried look appeared on the woman's face, realising that she was fighting against a human who is capable of using magic.

"W-Wait, you're a wizard?!" The woman screamed, pointing at Lucy in fear. Lucy and Gajeel couldn't help but smirk; the former because she was regretting what she did to her, the latter because of a strange feeling of pride. "Uh... Y-you know I was o-only kidding when I said all that, r-right? Yeah it w-was all just a joke."

Lucy pointed Cancer's key towards the woman. "I think you should give her a trim around the edges." Lucy said. Before the woman could react, Cancer had already cut her hair, leaving her bald. The woman pulled out a little mirror out of her pocket, screaming in horror as she saw her bald head before running off. Cancer disappeared as a ray of light, Lucy fell down to her hands and knees as a wave off exhaustion ran over her. Gajeel ran over to Lucy, helping the blonde get up, to which Lucy smiled at him. "Guess I needed more rest, didn't I?"

As Lucy laughed and smiled, Gajeel kept a face of serious concern as he looked at her. "Bunny, I was actually worried for you there." Gajeel said as he looked at Lucy, helping her get on her feet. "What would you do if holding open a _Zodiac_ key caused you to pass out from all the magic energy you used up today when we took out Wendigo Skull?"

"Okay, okay, I won't use anymore of my magic today." Lucy said with a little laugh. Gajeel furrowed his brow at Lucy.

"And tomorrow." Gajeel said. Well, it was more like it was an order than something that he said. Lucy had at first looked confused at what Gajeel said, the Iron Dragon Slayer's words coming with seemingly no context whatsoever. Lucy then put two and two together, understanding that Gajeel meant that he didn't want her to use any of her magic for not only the rest of the night, but throughout all or most of tomorrow. "Listen, Bunny, I know we're not the best of friends but I still care for ya. I don't want you to use up all your magic power and get Magic Deficiency Disease."

"Fine, I won't use any of my magic today or tomorrow." Lucy said with a slight roll of her eyes. Gajeel held out his little finger, wanting Lucy to promise that she wouldn't be using her magic. Lucy mentally laughed that it was Gajeel Redfox - the no-nonsense loner of Fairy Tail who's name used to scare children when he was in Phantom Lord - had actually decided to resort to pinky promises. But Lucy soon understood that why Gajeel wanted her to pinky promise; because Lucy always keeps her promises, and this little action would basically do as Gajeel said because of her promise-keeping nature. Guess there really is some brain under that brawn. Lucy wrapped her own little finger around Gajeel, the two shaking their hands... fingers(?) before they continued their walk to where the restaurant was located.

Lucy stopped as the realization suddenly hit her like a speeding carriage.

"Hey, Gajeel." Lucy said, stopping and turning around to the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Yeah?" Gajeel responded as he continued walking, not that it mattered much with Lucy being a good distance away from him.

"Where is this restaurant?" Lucy asked.

"It's about a few more minutes away." Gajeel answered, the man now standing in front of Lucy, making a little grin at Lucy. "Though, if you want, I could just carry you there. We'll get there much faster if I'm runnin'."

" _Wow, it's almost amazing how he could go from caring about me to being indifferent about everything and then to being a total pervert._ " Lucy thought as she looked at the tall man. Although admittedly the thought of being carried by Gajeel when he looks _that_ hot did make Lucy's heart go wild. At least her brain wasn't making crazy images of her and Gajeel being a couple. "I can walk on my own, thank you."

Gajeel shrugged as Lucy continued her way, putting his hands in his pockets. Lucy hummed and closed her eyes as she continued to skip happily, how she was able to skip in high heels still perplexed her. Lucy suddenly collided with something that felt hard and fleshy on her face, her eyes opening to see a naked chest. Lucy stepped back as she was suddenly in front of a muscular, shirtless guy. He had spikey, red hair that looked like Laxus' except it was a bit longer, he had a nice, well-built bod that he didn't hide behind a shirt, and he wore dark blue shorts. Despite it being rather dark with the moon out, Lucy could tell that he had tan skin, as well as sunglasses that rested on his forehead and wore a necklace that had a sun on it.

" _Where'd this guy come from, a surfing competition?_ " Lucy thought as she looked at the guy. "Sorry for bumping into you."

"Oh, it is quite alright, Lady." The man said in a suave tone, his voice having an almost natural smoothness to it. He wrapped a muscular arm around Lucy, pulling her close to his chest. Lucy noticed like he was built like Gajeel, although Gajeel's muscles were a little bigger. Lucy looked up at the man, a fond and amused smile on his face as he looked down at her, his eyes red like one of the most expensive rubies imaginable. "I don't mind when people accidently walk into me, especially when they're a beautiful woman. And you're someone else entirely."

Lucy felt herself blushing at his words, unable to say or do anything.

"My name is Dilan." The man - Dilan - said, introducing himself. "I have travelled all around Fiore and the world and have seen many beautiful sights, but none can compare to the beauty I'm holding in my arms. Tell me, is your Aphrodite? Because you certainty look like a goddess of love, beauty and pleasure."

Lucy was abruptly pulled out of Antonio's arms and into another pair, hearing an almost animal-like growl come form the chest she was pressed against. Lucy looked up, seeing Gajeel. While the fact that it was the Dragon Slayer wasn't a surprise, he was even angrier than when that random woman insulted the blonde.

"Her name is Lucy and you can leave her alone!" Gajeel growled. Lucy's eyes widened and almost bulged out at what she saw; it looked like iron scales were surrounding Gajeel's eyes. It wasn't like the Iron Dragon Slayer Magic spell were the user surrounds themselves in iron scales as an armour, it was like they were actually growing and forming from underneath Gajeel's skin and flesh.

Despite the bloodthirsty anger in Gajeel's eyes, the Dragon Slayer's snarling and the dragon scales of iron that were growing under the skin and flesh of not only around his eyes, but also seemingly the sides of his neck and around his arms, Dilan seemed unfazed by Gajeel. "Sorry, Lucy, but it seems like our meeting is cut short by your protective friend." Dilan said, giving Lucy a wink and blowing her a kiss, which only made Gajeel angrier; the mage holding Lucy closer and growling louder. "I'm sure that we will meet again, and hopefully your friend won't be around to ruin the fun."

Dilan walked away, waking Lucy goodbye without looking at her until he disappeared. Gajeel let go of Lucy, causing the blonde to stumble away as the force keeping her against his body was no longer there. Lucy looked at Gajeel, the man had a hand on his forehead as he started blinking and shaking his head, like he just snapped out of a trance. The scales that were growing on Gajeel disappeared as he regained lucidity, the man starring at Lucy in scared confusion.

"Hey, uh... Bunny, did something happen?" Gajeel asked, droplets of sweat falling down his brow like it was a hot day. "I sorta blacked out there. Did anything happen?"

Lucy bit her lip, not knowing what to tell Gajeel. "No, you must have just blacked out for a few seconds." Lucy lied.

Gajeel was silent before grunting in response, the man wrapping his arm around Lucy and continuing his walk to the restaurant. Lucy didn't skip for the rest of the walk, fearing what could happen if she walks into someone again. Although this fear was more directed towards Gajeel and what would happen to him. Gajeel was truly confused by what happened; he remembered someone flirting with Lucy (who he should be seeing as a friend, _dammit_ ) and then all he saw was red. The world became blank and Gajeel suddenly found himself without the man present anymore, just him and Lucy.

Lucy and Gajeel were in silence as they walked, a feeling of uneasiness between them until they were in front of the restaurant. The Hungry Star Restaurant had a large variety of customers, both Gajeel and Lucy would look like they could fit in with how differently dressed most of the customers looked. The maître d'hôtel quickly approached Gajeel and Lucy, leading them to a table where the menus already were.

"This sure does look like a good restaurant." Lucy said as she looked into her menu, forgetting about the uneasiness that came from Gajeel's... whatever it was.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gajeel grunted in response, looking at his own menu. Despite his outward indifference, Gajeel was also relieved that everything with him and Lucy had calmed down from what happened a few minutes ago. It was after a few minutes of silence that a waitress appeared.

"Aww, bad boy and good girl couples are so cute." The waitress said as she saw Gajeel and Lucy, causing the two mages to blush and splutter. The waitress seemingly ignored the two's reactions and pulled out her notepad and pencil. "So what would you two like?"

"W-we are not a couple!" Lucy protested, trying to will away the blush on her face. Gajeel looked away from Lucy and the waitress, endlessly mentally yelling about how him falling in love with anyone again is an utter no-no. "We are only friends who are having dinner together, _non-romantically_!"

"Whatever you say." The waitress said in a sing-song tone. "So what would you like?"

Lucy had a feeling that it would be pointless to try to convince the woman otherwise, just deciding to order her dinner. "I'll have the spaghetti meal, please." Lucy said before looking at the still-bushing 'bad boy' Gajeel. "Gaj, would please tell the woman your order."

"I'll have the burger and chips." Gajeel said, his heart finally calming down from the fast beating caused by the waitress' words. The waitress wrote down Gajeel and Lucy's order onto her notepad before taking the menus and walking away, leaving the Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit mage alone again (at least in the sense that it felt like they were alone). Lucy looked at Gajeel in the eyes, her heartbeat rising as the waitress' couple comment was replaying in her head. Most of the sounds in the world were left muffled by Lucy's heartbeat, images of her and Gajeel being something much more than friends playing in her hand like when she was in the shower earlier. Gajeel was starting to feel uncomfortable in his seat, something that shouldn't be happening to him because he is the Iron Dragon Slayer, dammit! He is _not_ someone who starts to feel uncomfortable... unless if he's on a vehicle.

Gajeel closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, trying to get that waitress' words out of his head. Bunny Girl was only a friend, why does everyone think he and her would ever be something more? Seriously, first it was with Lily, the only person who knew about how much he suffered during the break-up, and now with people who don't even know him. Gajeel's nose picked up Lucy's scent, his nerves once again calming down as the aroma made him feel... pleasant. Lucy's scent was truly a smell that the Iron Dragon Slayer could never get tired of.

Gajeel opened his eyes, seeing Lucy. The blonde had a sudden glow around her, a choir of Angels singing in his ear, and a huge feeling in Gajeel's chest. Gajeel shook his head from side to side, hitting the sides of his head with his hands. When Gajeel opened his eyes again, Lucy was looking at him in confusion, the blonde opening her mouth to say something, though she was cut off when Gajeel put his hand in front of her, silently telling her to not ask him.

Lucy glowered at Gajeel but complied nevertheless. It was after a few more minutes of near-unbearable silence that the waitress arrived with Gajeel and Lucy's orders. The two magi ate their respective dinners in peace, occasionally looking up at each other before looking back at their food. Surprisingly, it was Lucy that finished her food first, wiping her mouth clean with a napkin, although she looked a little bothered by what she saw on the piece of paper.

"Great, there goes my lipstick." Lucy said as she looked at the lipstick that was no completely on the napkin. "Not that it matters much, this isn't a date."

"Eh, I think you look better without that damn make-up on your face." Gajeel said as he was finishing the chips he was eating with his burger. The Iron Dragon Slayer widened his eyes as he realised the words he blurted out, looking at Lucy; the blonde staring at him with curiosity and surprise.

"You think I look better without make-up?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah." Gajeel answered, looking away from Lucy and resuming on eating his chips. The blonde starred at Gajeel before standing up and grabbing Gajeel's napkin (not that he ever planned on using it) and going to the bathroom. Gajeel raised an eyebrow as Lucy disappeared behind the bathroom doors, the Dragon Slayer eventually ignoring her action and resumed eating his chips. Shortly thereafter, Lucy came back with the napkin in her hand, the piece of paper having the eyeliner smeared on it. Gajeel noticed that Lucy was no longer wearing any make-up, and yet he still felt a desire to kiss her.

Gajeel's hands reached at his plate for some more chips, however he didn't find any as he kept his eyes on Lucy. The blonde made an amused expression before giggling into her hand.

"You've already eaten everything, Gajeel." Lucy said before returning to her giggles. Gajeel looked down at his plate, the iron-eating man finding that it was eaten clean of all food except for crumbs. Lucy continued to giggle at Gajeel. Back in his Phantom Lord days, if anyone dared to laugh or even snicker at Gajeel then they would be beaten to a bloody pulp, and even though he has greatly changed since then, Gajeel would still usually leave someone with a bloody nose if they laughed at him. But with Lucy, it felt... different. Her laugh felt enjoyable to Gajeel, like a melody. Gajeel had unknowingly ended up staring at Lucy fondly as she laughed.

Gajeel bit down on his bottom lip again, snapping himself out of his little trance. Gajeel and Lucy's empty plates were taken away, the Dragon Slayer paid for the meal and they both left. As Gajeel and Lucy walked back to the Sleeping Moon Hotel for their night of fun, the Dragon Slayer kept a muscular arm around Lucy, not Lucy had shown to care or complain.

* * *

Lucy laid down naked on the king-sized bed, the arousing scent of lust coming off of her as the naked Gajeel crawled over her, his limp member dragging against her firm legs. Lucy looked down at the flaccid member against her legs, knowing it would become hard soon enough.

Gajeel fixed his mouth around the bud of one of Lucy's breasts, his hand cupping and massaging the other breast. Lucy moaned as pleasurable sensations were sent across her body from the breasts that the Dragon Slayer was currently tending to, the thick member rubbing against her legs growing hard as Lucy's moans sang to Gajeel's ears, sending the blood flowing to his male organ. Gajeel suckled at the teat as he rubbed his member against Lucy's legs, the Dragon Slayer thankful that Lily still wasn't present and that the hotel walls were soundproof because he knew that things were going to become loud. Lucy ran her fingers against the side of Gajeel's body, a shiver of sexual excitement shaking through the Dragon Slayer's body. Lucy moaned more and more, the sounds starting out low before gradually becoming louder and louder; Gajeel continued to suck on one of her buds while he squeezed at the breast's twin.

Gajeel's member soon became erect, the Iron Dragon Slayer continued to rub it against Lucy's legs; the only reason why it wasn't rubbing against or even going inside her opening yet was because he was just as tall if not taller than her, he would have to bend his back like a contortionist to pay attention to Lucy's womanly folds whilst also paying attention to her breasts. He'll just go for one area of Lucy at a time.

"Gajeel... Gajeel..." Lucy breathed, her hands massaging Gajeel's back as he sucked at and massaged her breasts. "Let... me show your body some love."

Gajeel listened and complied, releasing Lucy's breasts from his mouth and hand. Lucy wrapped her arms around Gajeel's muscular, licking around his neck with slow and tender movements, her hot breath being blown onto the flesh, tantalizing waves moving throughout the Dragon Slayer's body from her tongue and breath. Gajeel cast his eyes down to Lucy, his own hot breath meeting her ear. Lucy let out a low, shaky breath as Gajeel lowered his head and fit her earlobe in his mouth, biting down and sucking on it softly. Lucy rubbed her hands over Gajeel's abs as both of their bodies rose, the man grabbing her legs and moving them apart as he brought his pelvic area closer to Lucy's, the tip of his member nudging Lucy's entrance.

Lucy lowered her body, purposely missing Gajeel's member as she did so. Gajeel let out a little growl in annoyance lowering himself until his body was once again atop of Lucy's. The blonde grabbed the Dragon Slayer and flipped them over, causing her to be on top of him. Lucy placed her entrance above Gajeel's penis, lowering herself down and inserting it into her end. Gajeel began thrusting into Lucy, the woman moving her hips up and down with each thrust, Gajeel's manhood drove deeper into Lucy, her insides clamping down on the large member that they recognised from last night.

Heat rose in the two Fairy Tail mages, their actions speeding up, their moans becoming louder and louder, each thrust growing slightly faster than the last. Gajeel and Lucy's clothes laid scattered around the king-sized bed, the frame of their bed banging against the walls. Yep, if the walls weren't soundproof then there would definitely be complaints about their lovemaking.

Lucy's hips began to buckle as her climax was starting to run towards her like Jet on a sugar rush, a powerful pressure building inside Lucy's pelvis and in need of being released. Gajeel gripped at Lucy's hips, sweat coming from their bodies as they both were starting to come onto the verge of their climaxes. "Fuck... Lucy!" Gajeel growled, pulling Lucy down, bringing his member deeper into her, the pressure built up from the sex setting fire into his loins like last night, deep moans escaping his mouth with every breath he took. "Are you... are you about to...?"

"Cum?" Lucy finished for the Dragon Slayer. "Yeah... I feel like I'm going explode with I cum soon."

Gajeel gripped Lucy's hips even tighter than before, his head pressing back against the pillow it laid on as he climaxed. Gajeel and Lucy both let out a loud scream as they orgasmed, the Iron Dragon Slayer filling the Celestial Spirit mage with his white liquid. Lucy collapsed onto Gajeel once the orgasm ended, all the energy that she used up throughout the day resulting in her complete exhaustion.

Gajeel looked at the blonde sleeping on his body, obviously tired out from the day she had. Gajeel let Lucy sleep, she deserved it after that kick-ass job she did back at that Dark Guild. Gajeel picked Lucy up, the nude Dragon Slayer holding her equally nude body bridal style, lifting up the bedsheet and placing himself and Lucy under it. Lucy's sleeping form uncurled itself, the blonde once again using Gajeel's chest as a fleshy pillow. Gajeel kept his arms wrapped around Lucy, watching her intently. Gajeel didn't know how much time had passed as he continued to look at the woman sleeping in his arms, he was just persuaded by some silent voice from within himself to watch her. He didn't realise that the same thing within, the same instinct, was causing iron scales to grow underneath the skin and flesh around his eyes as they became more slitted than before.

Gajeel then picked up a slight knocking at the door. " _Shit, did someone actually hear us?_ " Gajeel thought as he got out of the bed and put his boxers on, his eyes returning to normal and the scales growing around them once again disappearing. Gajeel heard another knock on his door, this time it was a louder one. The Iron Dragon Slayer opened the door to see Panther Lily, the Exceed in his battle form.

Lily walked into the room, turning back into his small default body. The Exceed looked at the clothing thrown around the bed and the naked blonde sleeping in it before looking back at Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer having closed the door.

"I see that you and Lucy had your... fun." Lily observed, a prude blush appearing underneath his fur.

"Yeah, Bunny didn't do as much as last time, but she still did good." Gajeel said as he walked back to the bed and got under the covers, the Dragon Slayer unknowingly wrapping his arms around Lucy, causing the blonde to wrap her own arms around him. Gajeel looked down at Lucy, stroking her hair without even really knowing the reason why. Lily watched as he got on one of the one-person beds, a smile appearing on his face as he saw the care and compassion in Gajeel's eyes where the emotion would rarely be. "She worked hard today... on the mission. If she didn't attack Theo-What's-her-face, I woulda surely died. Think I should give her a real thank you for all that."

Lily nodded, although a yawn escaped his little body. "And how was dinner?"

Gajeel grunted. "Food was fine, some people we passed by were real annoying." Gajeel summarised, looking back down at Lucy as she slept before looking back at the intrigued, but also sleepy, Lily. "You're not getting anymore outta me, even if ya bribe me with pure iron."

Panther Lily did a little shrug before curling and falling asleep. Gajeel sighed, turning his face towards the ceiling, calmly falling asleep as he smelt Lucy's natural aroma.

* * *

Under a black cloud of rain and thunder, there was a forest area, far away from most towns and villages, that was vacant except for a castle-like structure that sat somewhere in the area's centre. Rain fell on the castle-like structure and thunder crackled above, though this was usual weather around the area; the plant life and trees in the area were little to none. One strike of lightning from the cloud above made an irregular and odd movement, hitting the ground and turning into a human body.

Theodora was on her hands and knees as she returned to her human form, her vision becoming blurry and her head dizzy from all the magic she had used up in her battle. Theodora staggered up onto her feet, stumbling over to the castle-like structure's doors.

Theodora knocked on the structure's door, said doors opening to reveal a woman with long green hair that reached down to her waist, fair skin and onyx eyes. Her forearms were covered by long, black gloves with pink nails attached. She wore leather boots that reached up to her knees, a green shirt, a short, light blued-coloured skirt and a pink bead necklace around her neck.

The woman's eyes widened as she saw Theodora, hunched with her clothes slightly torn. "Theodora, what happened to you?" The woman asked in alarm, taking Theodora into the structure. The woman closed the door behind herself and Theodora, stopping anymore of the rain getting in. The woman took Theodora to a chair and table, sitting the Lightning Magic mage down before disappearing and then reappearing with a towel in hand. "What happened to you, Dora? You look like you've been beaten up really badly."

"There were... mages... From Fairy Tail...!" Theodora said, shaking even as the woman wrapped a towel around her. "They... attacked Wendigo Skull... They managed to defeat us. Especially... one mage. She defeated us all... with one spell."

A snort sound was heard across the hall that Theodora and the woman were in. "If one mage managed to take you down with one spell than you are even more beneath consideration than before, Theodora." Said an emotionless and condescending male voice. Theodora and the woman looked to see a feminine-looking man sitting at a table, holding a novel in hand and reading it. He had long, purple hair that reached down to his shoulders. He wore long purple pants that reached down to his ankles, plain black shoes and an open, dark blue trench coat whose sleeves had hanged loosely from his arms. He wore a pair of spectacles that sat perched on his nose as he used them to read his novel. The man looked up, his purple eyes casting on Theodora and the woman, the latter of whom was glaring at him. "We do not consider weaklings, Theodora. They go against the ideologies of the Dark Sect. If you're defeated by one of those guilds of light, why should we continue to care about you? Oh, don't give me _that_ look, Evangeline. A glare won't get anything done."

Evangeline growled at the man, placing a protective arm in front of Theodora. "Enough of your shit talk, William." Evangeline said to the purple-haired man, William, with a hint of malice. Evangeline's hand glowed blue, the hand becoming surrounded by water that came from the person attached to it. "Theodora is my _friend_. If you dare to insult her in front of me, I will..."

William huffed haughtily, slamming his novel down on the table in front of him, both managing to remain intact despite the immense force used. "Don't make me laugh, Evangeline. We both know that your a strong user of Water Magic, but we both also know that I'm second in command. And we both know that I'm second in command because the only member of Dark Sect that is capable of defeating me is none other than Lord Xan himself." William said, raising one of his hands towards Evangeline and Theodora, a purple magic seal coming from his open hand. "Dare try to use a single spell against me, especially one for offensive purposes, then you will be crush in the blink of an eye."

Evangeline kept her teeth bared at William with her eyes in a glare, the water around her hands continuing to grow. William narrowed his eyes at the green-haired Water mage, Evangeline started to feel the weight on her body increase as William was already preparing to crush (or at least incapacitate) her with his own magic.

Theodora watched with wide-eyed anticipation as it seemed like Evangeline was about to actually attack William, an action that would end badly for the former, even at best. However, the mages were stopped as an inhuman was heard. To most humans, this laugh would terrify them. But the three mages present were already acquainted with the laugher as he walked down a set of stairs towards them.

It was a creature that definitely wasn't a human nor a demon. The creature had a humanoid appearance, wearing jester-like shoes that curled at the ends. They were wrapped up in an ancient-looking pair of brown and orange-coloured clothing, covering their torso and ending above their knees. Their face looked like the face of a regular human, especially a male one, but their skin was ink-black, their eyes a malevolent red. The creature had a third eye on their forehead, turned sideways and red like the other two. It legs looked human, with the exception of the ink-black colour. There were no sleeves for their odd clothing, revealing their arms and hands to also be ink-black, though that wasn't the only unusual feature of their arms and hands; there were eight of each on both sides of its body, long and paper-thin, flailing around the air meaninglessly. If Theodora, Evangeline and William weren't already used to this creature, another member of their organization, they would have been terrified by its odd presence.

" ** _There's no need to start such a pointless battle over something as trivial as a comrade's failure, Evangeline and William._** " The creature spoke with an odd voice, a unison of a raspy, fully-grown man's voice and a high-pitched child's voice. The water around Evangeline's hands disappeared, as did the magic circle in front of William's open hand. The creature smiled as it noticed these changes. " _ **Theodora might have lost to those who take the side of good, but she is still one of our strongest mages. If a mage managed to defeat her and her guild with one spell, we'll just have to either make her join our side or destroy her. It's all really simple if you humans thought to think your actions more carefully.**_ "

"Whilst there may be a seed of wisdom in your words, Xiraceal, it still isn't as simple as you think." William said, giving the aforementioned creature a slight glare. "Who's to say that the spell wasn't one of immense power? What if it was a mere weak attack that still defeated Theodora and Wendigo Skull."

"N... no. That wasn't... a weak spell." Theodora said as she tried to remember the name. "I... I think she called it... Urano Metria."

"Urano Metria?!" Evangeline outburst, looking at Theodora fearfully, sweating breaking down her forehead. William and Xiraceal were also looking at Theodora with fear for the magic she said.

"The Ultimate Magic of the Stars...?!" William muttered.

"What is going on here?!" A male voice yelled, the three humans and... creature, present looking at the voice's source as he walked down the stairs. The left side of his head was bald with a red tattoo that looked like a Z place atop of another Z, a snake-like, wiggly red line was vertically placed over the Z-like tattoo; the line also being a part of the tattoo. The left side of his head had long, red hair that almost covered the left side of his face. His eyes were coloured a hateful crimson with dark, black circles hanging underneath them. He was wearing knight armour with a long, red cape and a golden ring on the ring finger of his right hand, the golden ring having a red jewel sticking out.

"Lord Xan." Evangeline said, the female, alongside William and Xiraceal, bowing down at the dark wizard. Xan ignored their bows, instead he approached Theodora, disappointment decorating his face.

"L-Lord Xan..." Theodora muttered fearfully as the armoured man neared her, the disappointment in his eyes changing into rage with each step that he took closer the blue-eyed woman. "I can explain why-"

Theodora was suddenly cut off as Xan slapped her across the face with his right hand, the red jewel on his ring cutting at the skin and flesh of Theodora's right cheek. Theodora slammed against the ground, making a yelled of pain as she put her hand over the stinging wound across her cheek, a warm liquid coming out of the cut line and onto the body part. Xan grabbed Theodora by the neck, pulling her up above him with ease. Chokes escaped from the already beaten woman as Xan's armoured hand kept its tight grip on her throat. Evangeline watched in horror, her body trying to urge her to stop Xan before he takes Theodora's life. But Evangeline knew that trying to stop Lord Xan, even if he was on his ownsome, was an idea that would be called suicidal at best. The only thing that Evangeline could do for the life of her friend was cross her fingers and toes and hope that Xan would be in a more merciful mood.

Theodora continued to choke, the life starting to disappear from her eyes. Xan let go of Theodora, the evil mage making a small thud as he body collided with the floor. Theodora took a deep, raspy breath as her hand clutched at the front of her neck, the otherwise powerful woman continuing to do so until she regained the air that Lord Xan strangled out of her. Theodora looked up at Xan, her hand balling into a fist as she could feel the adrenaline pump through her veins. In the case if Theodora had to choose between fight or flight, her only real option was flight if it was Lord Xan. And even then, with her current exhaustion, flight might not be a possibility.

"Whilst it is near irredeemable that you lost to one of those guilds of light, especially with you being one of the strongest members of Dark Sect, I will let you live for the many hindrances in our plans that you eliminated." Xan said to Theodora, though kindness was not at all in his voice.

Evangeline felt immense relief arise within her as she knew that Lord Xan wasn't going to kill Theodora for her failure, although she knew that a sigh of that exact emotion would be too soon to act. If Lord Xan was going to let Theodora live, then the Lightning mage would end up being punished.

"However you have nevertheless lost to something that we are working to obliterate. You had your entire guild on your side and yet you still lost." Xan continued with scorn as he kept his glare on Theodora. The red-haired woman's muscles tensed in fearful anticipation, knowing that Lord Xan would punish her for losing to something like a guild of light; losing to the cowardly weaklings that followed rules and obeyed those that were even weaker than them. Two cloaked figures walked into the room, their garments looking like they were made from old rags, each carrying spears and wearing abnormally large goat skulls as helmets. Xan shifted his red eyes to the spear-wielding mages, their names too meaningless for him to remember, before landing them back to Theodora and then once again the two mages. "Take Theodora to the dungeon for two days, that should be a suitable enough punishment for her."

Theodora would have screamed in protest, possibly even beg for Lord Xan to rescind his command. But Theodora quickly remembered how intolerant Xan was towards failure, this was equivalent to the man's mercy.

Evangeline had to wrestle against her body to stop herself from attacking the guards as they dragged the yielding Theodora away, knowing that this was more of a best-case scenario for the lightning user. Still, they could have at least tended to the cut that continued to rest and bleed on Theodora's right cheek. Evangeline looked back at Xan as Theodora and the mages taking her away disappeared into the darkness, the man ignoring her as he went to the throne room. Evangeline looked back at the table and chairs; William was once again sitting down with a novel in hand, looking at Evangeline with annoyance before his eyes rotated back to his book, reading the written words of a world only existing in pen on paper.

Evangeline glared at William before walking away, wanting to get away from the purple-haired man. She really hates him, even from the first day that they met. Oh, if only he wasn't such a powerful and valuable asset to Dark Sect.

* * *

Xan sat down on his throne, his room having large and gothic windows, almost like those you would see on a church, that would let in flashes of light whenever thunder or lightning struck. Xan stared at the darkness at the end of his throne room in unamused annoyance, said darkness would only obscure the doors of his room but he knew who (or more accurately what) was hiding there, waiting for his acknowledgement.

" ** _Ah, it seems nothing can get past you, O great and all-knowing Lord Xan._** " Xiraceal said as he appeared from the shadows, praising the creator and leader of the organization that he took part in.

"Enough of the lip service, Xiraceal." Xan said, leaning his face onto his fist as he looked at the... thing with the same unamused boredom. "Tell me what is the reason that you have to come to my throne room or leave. There are many more important things that I could do with my time."

" ** _Of course, Great Xan. I will keep this as short as possible to not waste your precious time._** " Xiraceal said with a smile, bowing down at Xan. Xan rolled his eyes, using his hand to gesture Xiraceal to get on with it. " _ **You see, Theodora said that one of the mages took out the entire guild with a single spell: Urano Metria.**_ "

Xan exhaled out of his nostrils, unintimidated by the news. "Our goal is for all legal guilds to be wiped out and for every mage that refuses to join the dark side to be killed. Besides the Urano Metria spell takes time to cast, n fact it leaves the caster open to an attack as they focus on the spell." Xan said, crossing one of his legs over the other. "An enemy possessing the Ultimate Magic of the Stars is hardily a threat."

" ** _And what if this mage becomes a constant hindrance to our plans?_** " Xiraceal asked with a raised eyebrow, his third eye blinking.

Xan made an amused snort, something that most of those that knew of him thought he was incapable of. Even Xiraceal, a something that saw sights that humans would be completely unable to imagine or comprehend, had taken a double take at the sight. "Then we annihilate them like we do with all hindrances." Xan answered, a smug grin growing on his lips. "Honestly, I thought you were the one who saw everything in a simple light."

" ** _Touché, Master._** " Xiraceal said as he backed away from Xan, the ambiguous creature backing into the shadows, his presence and entire being disappearing into the corners of darkness.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Here's the next chapter with some romance, some smut and then some plot. Told ya that we would see Theodora again, although now she and Dark Sect won't be seen again for another few chapters.**

 **My abilities at writing smut still need a lot of improvement, but hey as a writer my skills at writing virtually anything that I feel like writing needs to improve in general, doesn't it?**

 **Whatever, here's another long, 10,000+ words long chapter. And at least some stuff in the story is moving along.**

 **Until the next chapter, see ya.**


	5. Payment and An Elixir

With an annoyed and pained groan, Gajeel opened his eyes to see the sunlight shining into his eyes from behind the window. The Iron Dragon Slayer forced his eyes shut and turned around to his side, his arms and hands moving around as he felt at the bed to find a specific person. Gajeel, however, couldn't find anything. Gajeel opened his eyes, finding that Lucy's sleeping form was no longer there. The Dragon Slayer could pick up the sound of water running out of a shower, mixed with the sound of a gentle humming that Gajeel could recognise as Lucy. Gajeel sighed in defeat, knowing that now he had woken up he won't be falling back to sleep anytime soon.

Gajeel rolled onto his other side, picking up the little clock on the small cupboard. The Dragon Slayer brought the clock close to his face, his already less than happy expression not becoming much better as the clock shown him that it was only a few minutes after nine in the morning. Gajeel let out a disgruntled sigh, letting his arm fall down the side of the king-sized bed, the clock falling out of his hand and making a small clink sound as it hit the floor and made a small bounce of off it.

"I hate mornings." Gajeel grumbled as he looked up at the ceiling, his arms spread out. It always angered him when he had some good sleep and was forced awake by the goddamn sun. "I _really_ hate mornings."

Panther Lily uncurled and stretched his body as he woke up, rubbing his eyes with a little yawn. It was then, to the cat-like entities surprise, that he saw Gajeel awake in the morning. "Huh, this is a first." Lily commented as he looked at the awake Iron Dragon Slayer. Gajeel turned his head towards Lily, his grimace remaining unchanged. Lily let out a snicker at the look of annoyance and partial anger on Gajeel's face. "Usually you're not awake until at least a whole hour after I've woken up. I must say, it's a real first for you to be up in the mornings. You always make it clear that you're not a morning person."

"It's the goddamn sun, Lily." Gajeel said to Panther Lily, not bothering to move his body up, not even slightly. "If it wasn't for that giant, oversized orb of fire in the sky then I would still be sleepin' an' having a good dream."

The sounds of running water stopped, becoming replaced by the sound of a dry towel being rubbed against and drying a wet body. After that sound concluded, there was a moment of silence inside the bathroom before Lucy emerged from it. The Celestial Spirit mage was wearing a sleeveless, white shirt with a blue line in the centre, the top of the shirt was slightly open; revealing a bit of her cleavage. The open part of Lucy's shirt had the same blue lines at the edges, as well as other blue lines that shot out to her sides from a certain area around the cleavage-revealing part of her shirt. Lucy was also wearing a blue miniskirt, a belt that also held the keyring for her Celestial Spirits was wrapped around it. Her long, blonde hair was tied up into a ponytail at the side of her head with a blue ribbon, and the two male could notice a black band around Lucy's right wrist. The Dragon Slayer and Exceed quickly remembered this outfit as the one that Lucy wore commonly before the chaos that started at Tenrou Island (and more or less perpetually continued since then).

Gajeel's bad mood got better as he once again smelled that amazing scent of strawberries, jasmine and stardust. The Dragon Slayer got off and out of the bed he was laying on, his nose picking up the smell of lust mixing in with Lucy's natural scent as she saw his body. Gajeel smiled at Lucy, the blonde smiling back at him. The black-haired man's eyes once again focussed on Lucy's lips and how much he want to kiss them. His body shaking as he was trying to stop it from pouncing Lucy and kissing her. Panther Lily watched as Gajeel was trying to stop himself from kissing Lucy, the Dragon Slayer making a quick walk to the bathroom and slamming the door behind him.

Lucy looked at the bathroom door in confusion, not knowing why Gajeel suddenly bolted into the room. Lily smiled, knowing that something was growing between Gajeel and Lucy (at least Gajeel was starting to gain some feelings). The Exceed used his Aera magic to grow wings, flying over to Lucy and floating in front of her. "Hello, Lily." Lucy smiled as she noticed the panther-like entity. "How are you today?"

"I'm quite alright, thank you." Lily responded as Lucy sat down on the king-sized bed, the little Exceed sitting down on the bed as well. "So... what do you think about Gajeel?"

Lucy widened her eyes at Panther Lily, perplexed and almost nonplussed that he would ask something like that out of the blue. Well at first she didn't like Gajeel when he was in Phantom Lord, but she warmed up to him after he joined Fairy Tail. She didn't have much more of an opinion on the Dragon Slayer afterwards, since he spent most of his time either alone, with Levy or with Panther Lily. Although there was then what happened those two nights ago, when she and Gajeel first made love and seemingly everything after that to this day. Gajeel did seem... kind. He did protect her from Theodora's first lightning strike with hesitation, and he did show concern when Lucy felt exhaustion after summoning Cancer.

"I think Gajeel is a good man." Lucy answered, her face suddenly heating up and her heartbeat starting to rise. "He can be nice, when he wants to. Sure he tends to be a bit... brash at times, but he is still a nice man at heart. I like him."

Panther Lily listened to Lucy closely and took note of how she was suddenly getting fidgety, the smile of his face growing slightly as Lucy hinted more that she might have feelings for the muscular Dragon Slayer that the Exceed came to see as a close friend. Gajeel, even with the shower water raining down on his naked body, could hear Lucy and Lily's conversation through the bathroom walls, albeit faintly. Gajeel didn't know why, but the Dragon Slayer felt an almost bitter feeling within him that, so far as he is sure, Lucy only sees him as a friend. Gajeel only made a low, guttural sound as he tried to get rid of the bitter feeling.

* * *

"We thank you dearly for your help with our troubles and we hope you enjoyed your stay." May said as Gajeel, Lucy and Panther Lily checked out, their bill being nothing since Stephan decided for their stay to be free of charge since they stopped the Dark Guild that was constantly thieving from Orchid Town and the Sleeping Moon Hotel. Speaking of, Stephen was standing near the front desk, handing Gajeel the 300,000 Jewel in paper form. Gajeel took the paper form Jewel, tied together with a band, and put it in his rucksack before closing and slinging it over his shoulder.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you did for us." Stephan said to Lucy as he shook her hand, giving it a quick kiss on the back, prompting Gajeel to growl at the man. Stephan moved away from Lucy and Gajeel, his hands in front of him protectively before he lowered them back down. Gajeel stood behind Lucy, glaring at the hotel owner, telling him to keep his hands off of Lucy without saying a single word. Stephan's eyes widened, believing that Gajeel and Lucy were a couple, the amber-eyed man feeling guilty of his actions. "Be sure to recommend the Sleeping Moon Hotel to all your friends at your guild."

Lucy waved Stephan and May goodbye as she, Gajeel and Panther Lily left the Sleeping Moon Hotel and made their way to the train station. The wheels of Lucy's suitcase made rolling sounds as she pulled it along, a happy hum coming from her as her job with Gajeel and Lily ensured that she would not only get paid, but she would get paid with enough money to pay for her upcoming monthly rent. "Not if he keeps on groping and molestin' people like that." Gajeel said suddenly, causing Lucy to look at him in confusion. Gajeel looked at Lucy, feeling her confused stare on him. "I'm talkin' about that hotel owner guy, if he keeps on doin' what he did with ya twice then he won't be gettin' any business."

Oh, that. "It was just a kiss on the back of my hand, Gajeel." Lucy said to the Iron Dragon Slayer. "It was just a little gesture, not sexual harassment at all. Don't tell me that you're getting overprotective on me as well."

Gajeel opened his mouth to say something in response, but was cut off by a loud and sudden shriek that pierced through the sky. "Help! Help!" Yelled a male voice. The three Fairy Tail mages turned their heads towards the voice, seeing a sight that made their blood boil. There was a small, portable shop (or at lest it looked like a shop) with a person in a dark green cloak being pushed against it. The man was being pushed against the little shop by a man with a red bandana covering his mouth, said man holding a knife to the first person. Surrounding them were nine more people with red bandanas covering their mouths and holding knives, obviously being in a gang with the other guy wearing a red bandana.

"Alright, give us the money or lose your life." The main bandit threatened, the tip of his knife's blade just barely scraping the skin of the innocent and scared man's neck.

"Please, please, leave me alone." The man in the green cloak begged, his arms to his sides and his voice high-pitched, tears leaking from his eyes, though the bandits didn't seem to care. "I-I don't have much money. I'm poor, I'm poor."

Gajeel unslung the rucksack from around his shoulder, snapping his knuckles as he prepared to use his Iron Dragon Slayer Magic on the bandits. Just as Gajeel was going to launch an Iron Dragon's Club at the leader bandit, a water-like whip smacked him across the face, causing the leader bandit to fall off of the man he was pushing against the little shop. Gajeel looked to his side to see where the water-like whip came from, seeing an angry Lucy holding out her Fleuve d'étoiles. The leader bandit got back up staring at the three Fairy Tail members. The other bandits and the shop owner also stared at Gajeel, Lucy and Panther Lily.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" The leader bandit shouted at Lucy, pointing his knife towards the blonde. Lucy didn't say anything, instead she ran towards the man with her Fleuve d'étoiles still in hand. The head bandit growled, gesturing two of his subordinates to attack the oncoming blonde. Two bandits ran towards Lucy, their knives out and ready to stab at her. Lucy didn't decelerate her speed as they ran towards her, swinging the whip of Fleuve d'étoiles at them, knocking them both away with one hit.

Another bandit suddenly appeared behind Lucy, the man seemingly being a practitioner in speed-based magic. Lucy gasped as she looked behind herself, seeing the bandit already aiming the blade of his knife. Gajeel suddenly appeared between Lucy and the bandit, catching the blade in his mouth and eating it. The bandit was left shocked, nonplussed, unable to move as Gajeel ate the blade without a single cut nor drop of blood, the man obviously never heard of Iron Dragon Slayer Magic.

"Thanks for the free meal." Gajeel said before giving the still nonplussed bandit a swift and powerful punch to the face, sending him flying into a tree, as the Fairy Tail mages, the bandits and the other person were in a forest area between Orchid Town and the train station. "Though it didn't taste all that good."

"Holy hell, these guys are magic!" One of the bandits yelled, sweating in fear as he realised how screwed he and his comrades really were. Panther Lily flew towards the bandit, the Exceed now in his battle form and his Musica Sword grown to the size of a regular sword. The bandit that realised the hopelessness of the battle (at least on his side) shrieked and tried to run away, but Lily had already struck him and another bandit. The lead bandit was starting to sweat as half of his group was already taken down, the man growling and outstretching his hands towards Gajeel and Lucy, a magic seal appearing in front of his open palms. A fireball shot out of the magic seal at fast speeds, aimed directly at the Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit mage. Gajeel wrapped an arm around Lucy's body, jumping out of the way of the attack with the busty woman pressed against his body.

Two more bandits ran towards the Fairy Tail mages, however Lucy quickly and easily swept them away with another swing of her whip, the two men falling onto ground unconscious. Gajeel turned one of his arms into a pole of metal and shot it towards another bandit that was left paralyzed in fear and realisation, knocking him out in one hit. The head bandit realised that only he and another of his group were the only ones that remained conscious, his knife dropping out of his hand as he was subconsciously realising his defeat. The leader heard the sound of someone hitting the ground behind him, the man turning around to see his final lackey defeat by Panther Lily.

A water-like whip suddenly wrapped around the leader bandit, the man looking angrily behind himself to see that Lucy had him wrapped up in her Fleuve d'étoiles. The leader bandit tried to move his arms to cast a spell at the blonde, the whip tied around him was too strong and too tight for him to move his arms even slightly. The leader bandit tried to pull himself out of Lucy's hold, but the blonde was surprisingly stronger than him. Lucy let out a yell as she swung her whip, sending the leader bandit into a tree and knocking him unconscious, defeating the entire group of bandits. Lucy turned towards Gajeel, a sort of pleading look in her eyes. The Iron Dragon Slayer felt like he wasn't going to like what Lucy had to say.

"I know you made me promise that I wouldn't use my magic today, but we need Virgo to tie them up in rope. So can I please summon Virgo?" Lucy asked, giving Gajeel little puppy eyes. Gajeel looked away from Lucy, his face quickly heating up for a second before cooling down. The Dragon Slayer looked back at Lucy, finding that she was keeping her puppy eyes. Gajeel let out a reluctant sigh of defeat, ultimately giving in to Lucy.

"Fine, you can summon the masochistic maid." Gajeel said, his hand resting on his forehead before looking back at Lucy, a stern look in his eye. "But you better make her be damn quick about it, 'kay?!"

Lucy nodded, pulling out the golden key of the Zodiac Celestial Spirit. "Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo." Lucy said as she summoned the pink-haired spirit.

"Punishment?" Virgo asked.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It doesn't matter how many times you ask to be punished, I won't punish you." Lucy said, flailing her arms about. "I need you to tie those bandits up like you did with the Wendigo Skull members yesterday. And can you please be quick, Gajeel doesn't want me to use any magic today after I used it all up yesterday."

"Exactly as Princess and Sir Gajeel request." Virgo said with a nod, the spirit quickly gathering the unconscious bandits and tying them up into a rope together.

Gajeel smirked as he heard what Virgo called him, wrapping an arm around Lucy's shoulder. "See, Bunny? Your spirits think that 'Sir Gajeel' sounds like a good name." Gajeel said to Lucy as he kept his arm wrapped around Lucy's shoulders. Lucy looked up at the smirking Iron Dragon Slayer, annoyance in her eyes at his insistence to be called 'Sir Gajeel'.

"Actually I'm only saying it as a formality. None of the other spirits are particularly happy about your current relationship with Princess, Sir Gajeel." Virgo said, all of the ten unconscious bandits were behind her and tied up in a golden rope from the Celestial Spirit World. "We are all protective of our princess, and I think that Sir Capricorn is secretly plotting Sir Gajeel's demise. Also, I'm sorry Princess, but Big Brother is in an even worse mood than before. It may be a few weeks or so in your world before he can be summoned again, even though Aries is trying to calm him down."

The pink-haired maid disappeared in a ray of golden light, though the bandits were still secured tightly in her rope. The man in the green cloak ran towards Gajeel and Lucy, looking extremely thankful. "Thank you! Thank you! If it wasn't for you noble mages then I would have been dead." The man thanked, hurriedly shaking Gajeel and Lucy's hands. "But simply saying my thanks is not enough, I must repay you three. Sadly though, I don't make much money, but I can give you one of my elixirs for free. I insist, I insist."

"Elixirs?" Gajeel and Lucy asked in confusion. Panther Lily flew over the two mages while in his small form, the cat landing on one of Lucy's and sitting on it. The man in the green cloak ran to the portable shop and got inside it, opening two wooden windows that revealed many elixirs hiding inside of it.

"Yes, I am Hideo Isao; a master at creating potions that I sell in a portable shop that I own." The man, Hideo, explained. "Like I said, I don't make much money. But hopefully one of my potions will be more than enough to pay you back. Repay you, repay you."

"You don't need to repay us with any money or with any of your products for free." Lucy said, shaking her hands in front of Hideo, Gajeel behind her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, no, it is all alright. You two saved my life, I owe it to you and I have many potions." Hideo insisted, his eyes showing that he was being earnest and honest about giving Lucy and Gajeel an elixir in return for stopping the bandits. Lucy sighed in defeat, knowing that there was nothing she could do to change Hideo's mind, the Celestial Spirit mage and Lily decided to look at the potions and decide which one they'll take (if they were to ever use it). Gajeel leaned against a tree, his arms behind his back and his eyes closed as he had no real interest in the potions. Lucy's eyes landed on a glass flask with a blue potion in it, a piece of paper stuck on the front with the name of the elixir written on it.

"'Stillness Elixir'?" Lucy said in confusion as she read out the elixir's name. The name sounded odd to Lucy, as it sounded like the name of a potion that would leave someone petrified, almost like it would be used to slip in the food or drink of your enemies.

"Ah, yes, the Stillness Elixir. Don't be fooled by its name, it's not an elixir that turns someone to stone. Instead, the Stillness Elixir is a magic potion used to temporarily cure one's motion sickness." Hideo said happily to Lucy. Gajeel's eyes shot open as he heard about the Stillness Elixir's anti-motion sickness capabilities, the Dragon Slayer appearing behind Lucy and Lily. Lucy looked back at Gajeel, laughing slightly at the loner's sudden interest in the elixir, like a dog being promised a treat. Hideo also noticed Gajeel's interest, smiling as it looked like he would be able to repay that man for helping him. "Ah, I see you three now have an interest. This is the Stillness Elixir, created for the purpose of curing motion sickness. However, while the creator was successful in his goal, the elixir's effects were only temporary. By drinking the entire elixir, you can negate the effects of motion sickness, the elixir's effects lasting longer than one week, but lesser than two weeks."

"I'll take it!" Gajeel said, taking the blue elixir and putting it in his rucksack. Lucy giggled at the Iron Dragon Slayer, when she first met him when he was the lunatic he was at Phantom Lord, she would have never guessed anything like this.

"And what would you like, Miss? I'll wait, I'll wait." Hideo asked Lucy politely, looking calm.

Lucy looked back at the potions and elixirs on the stand, seeing that there was more of the familiar blue potion. "I think I'll also take a Stillness Elixir, Lord knows Gajeel will want and need it with his motion sickness."

"I'll take one as well." Panther Lily said, taking a Stillness Elixer in his little paws.

Hideo closed the windows of his little, portable shop, exiting it with gratitude still in his eyes. "I am very thankful for the deed you three did for me, and I hope that Stillness Elixir comes in handy for when you need it. Help you, help you." Hideo said, pointing his index finger towards his shop, making an odd gesture with the finger. Runes on the portable shop appeared and glowed, the small thing rising and hovering above the ground. Hideo started walking away, his hovering shop following him, waving goodbye to the Celestial Spirit mage, Dragon Slayer and Exceed as he was disappearing in the distance. Gajeel grabbed the rope that kept the still unconscious bandits tied together, dragging them along with him as he, Lucy and Panther Lily continued their walk to the train station; Lucy was pulling her suitcase along while Lily was holding the Stillness Elixir that he and Lucy got for the aforementioned Dragon Slayer.

"I remember seeing a police station that wasn't too far away from the train station, we'll be able to drop these bandits off while we're on our way to it." Gajeel explained to Lucy and Lily as they continued walking (or flying, in Panther Lily's case) through the forest area to the train station, the two nodding in acknowledgment. The three continued moving in silence, save the sound of Gajeel and Lucy's footsteps and the rolling sound coming from the latter's suitcase's wheels. "Hey, was it just me did that guy had a weird habit of saying two words twice in a row after saying a sentence?"

The three made it to the train station, wherein Gajeel gave the bandits to the police. The three Fairy Tail mages sat at the train station as they waited for the arrival of their train, Gajeel and Panther Lily were eating pieces of metal and kiwis respectively, both from the rucksack. The train arrived, Gajeel, Lucy and Panther Lily got on it, the Dragon Slayer of the three reaching into his rucksack and bringing out the still intact Stillness Elixir.

"Bottoms up." Gajeel said as he took the elixir's cork off, chugging down the elixir's contents. The train Gajeel, Lucy and Lily were on made a jerk and then started moving. Despite the movement and rocking of the train carriage, something that was more than enough to make Gajeel sick ever since the training he did for the Grand Magic Games, Gajeel didn't feel even the slightest pain in his stomach nor even a vile taste in his mouth that would signify that he was going to be sick. Gajeel grinned in nigh-uncontainable excitement as he was on a moving vehicle and didn't feel like he was going to start spewing out his innards uncontrollably. This was even better than Wendy's Troia spell. "Ha! Suck it, train, you can't beat me anymore! Gihihihihihihi!"

Lucy and Panther Lily watched as they were in the same booth as Gajeel, there two Stillness Elixirs (both for Gajeel) were next to Lily as he sat on the opposite seat to Gajeel and Lucy, finding themselves almost smiling at Gajeel's almost child-like enjoyment in having his motion sickness temporarily removed. The laughing Gajeel wrapped a muscled arm around Lucy, pulling her to his well-developed body. Lucy was surprised, looking up at Gajeel with red-tinted cheeks, the Dragon Slayer seemingly unaware of what he was doing. Lucy nevertheless continued to smile at Gajeel, enjoying the euphoria that the Iron Dragon Slayer was in. Lucy's eyes started to feel heavy, her eyelids were becoming magnets towards and for each other. The rocking of the carriage being slightly soothing, and Gajeel's body was like a big, muscular cushion. Lucy couldn't keep her eyes open, the blonde mage succumbing to the darkness of sleep.

Gajeel felt something suddenly lean on his shoulder, the Dragon Slayer stopping his laughing as he turned his head to see Lucy sleeping on his shoulder. Gajeel suddenly felt his heart beating against his chest with the power of a strong punch, his cheeks burning up like Salamander was unleashing his flames inside them. Gajeel turned his body around until he was laying down with Lucy laying on top of him. Lucy snuggled into Gajeel's chest as she slept, the Dragon Slayer moving his arms around her sleeping form. This didn't feel any different as he had already wrapped his arms around a sleeping Lucy, but it still made Gajeel's heart go crazy. Gajeel pressed his nose against Lucy's hair, smelling more of her irresistible scent.

Lily felt his face heating up and his heart race as he saw the sight, trying using every fibre in his being to not start squealing in joy like Mirajane most likely would. The prominent blush on Gajeel's face was both humorous and adorable as the sleeping Lucy snuggled into his chest and hug his body like he was a giant, muscular teddy bear, using his two pectorals as pillows. A rumble began in Gajeel's chest, coming out of the Dragon Slayer as a purr. Lucy snuggled her face deeper into Gajeel's chest, finding the man's purrs to be like a lullaby to her already sleeping form.

Gajeel felt like it was a bit of irony to when he, Lucy and Lily made their journey towards Orchid Town, as this time it was Lucy sleeping on him. Although he was sleeping on Lucy's legs instead of her chest (though the Dragon Slayer wouldn't mind using her big boobs as pillows) and it was because she originally used them to help him with his motion sickness and he fell asleep in the process. Meanwhile with Lucy, she just fell asleep on him and he decided to adjust his position so she could be more comfortable. It felt weird for Gajeel, really, being a living bed for the light of his guild. Though she wasn't heavy, and he wasn't uncomfortable; not even the slight bouncing of the train carriage mad Gajeel feel sick thanks to that Stillness Elixir. In fact, the slight up and down movements of the train felt comfortable for Gajeel. Made him feel relaxed. And made him feel a little drowsy.

"Lily, I think I'm startin' to fall asleep." Gajeel said to Panther Lily, gaining the little Exceed's attention. "Be sure to wake me an' Bunny Girl before our train stops at Magnolia."

"Sure thing, Gajeel." Panther Lily replied. Gajeel made a little grunt, his eyes starting to open and close until they remained closed, his head leaning back onto what remained of his seat. Lily watched as Lucy and Gajeel were sleeping together, the former atop of the latter. Gajeel let out a little snore as he slept, though it didn't seem like it minded Lucy. Even though Lucy's head was in Gajeel's chest, their feet were still tangled, due to the Dragon Slayer's tallness. Panther Lily smiled as the sight just seemed so natural, though an unpleasant thought entered his head. " _Damn, wish I had a camera._ "

* * *

Lucy woke as she felt small paws tap on her body, waking up to see the world turned on its side and Panther Lily tapping her whilst in his small form. The cat-like entity noticed that Lucy was awake, now tapping at the weird bed that Lucy was sleeping on. Lucy's eyes widened as she realised and remembered that she was on the train. Lucy heard a baritone groan come from the weird bed that held her close as she had her own arms around it as well, the same 'bed' moving upwards. Lucy and Gajeel moved their bodies around as the latter was starting to sit up, even as Lucy removed her arms from around Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer kept his own muscular arms around the Celestial Spirit summoner.

Eventually the two mages shifted around each other until Lucy ended up sitting on Gajeel's lap, the blonde looking up at the raven-haired man, a fluttery feeling in their hearts as Lucy's chocolate browns met Gajeel's wine reds. The train stopped, an intercom on it speaking that it stopped at Magnolia's train station. The three Fairy Tail mages made their way out of the train before it left, suitcase, rucksack and Stillness Elixirs in hand.

"Guess it's time for us to split the reward." Gajeel said as he took the reward money out of the rucksack, taking some of the paper notes out of the bundle. "You're lucky that Lily and I count as one, so Lily comin' along for the mission doesn't affect you half of the pay."

"Really?" Lucy asked, turning her head towards Panther Lily.

The former military captain nodded, smiling at Lucy. "I'm alright with it. Technically, I wasn't even meant to be on the mission." Lily responded, flying with his Aera magic.

"Here." Gajeel said, handing Lucy's share of the paper notes to her. Lucy happily took the money, however her eyes widened as she noticed a difference in the amount of money that she and Gajeel had. The blonde quickly counting the amount of money she had before looking at the Dragon Slayer in front of her.

"This is 180,000 Jewel." Lucy said, pointing at the money in her hand. "This is more than half of the payment."

"Well you did more than half the work, you deserve more than half of the payment." Gajeel said to Lucy as he put his and Lily's percentage of the reward back into the rucksack, giving Lucy and honest smile. "You deserve it, Bunny Girl."

Lucy stared at Gajeel, her eyes wide open and her mouth in the shape of a circle. Lucy's body started to shake at the overwhelming feelings of happiness, loosing control of herself in those emotions. "Thank you, Gajeel!" Lucy exclaimed in happiness, hugging the aforementioned Dragon Slayer. Gajeel was left frozen as Lucy hugged him, an odd feeling throughout him as the blonde woman hugged him. It was like a warm, soothing, and completely painless fire was lit in his chest, spreading its warmth throughout him as another purr began to resonate throughout Gajeel's body. In her bout of excitement and happiness, Lucy kissed Gajeel on the cheek and started to skip off. If Lucy at all aware of what she did, she would have been reduced to a blushing mess and would have apologised to Gajeel for kissing him (even if it was only on the cheek), but she wasn't aware in the slightest and would seemingly never realise it.

Gajeel just stood there, watching Lucy as he was left nonplussed by her sudden kiss. Gajeel could see Panther Lily in his peripherals, the little flying Exceed having his paws on his cheeks as he looked like he was so giddy that he would explode. "I already told you, I am _not_ falling in love!" Gajeel growled at Lily in annoyance, the cat-like creature not visibly reacting or caring.

* * *

Lucy skipped the entire way back to her home, holding the money close to her chest. The amount of Jewel she got from the mission alone is more than enough for her to pay rent and still have some left over, hell it's more than enough to pay rent for the next to months and still have some leftover money. Lucy entered her house, passing through the rune barrier that she didn't know was there. Lucy set the money down on her table before laying down on her bed. Even when on her bed and trying to calm herself down, Lucy still found herself fidgeting as her happiness left her with unbridled energy. As Lucy laid down on her bed, smiling like an excited and energetic young child, she began imagining Gajeel and his smiling face from earlier ago.

"Gajeel... such a sweet guy." Lucy sighed happily as she thought of the Iron Dragon Slayer. Lucy's eyes shot open as she realised her thoughts and words, shaking her from side to side. "What the hell am I thinking? Gajeel isn't a sweet guy, he is actually very rude!"

Lucy realised that she was talking to herself, blushing and sighing in embarrassment, thankful that there was no one to listen to her right now. Lucy got off her bed, grabbing her money before sorting out the money that she will use to pay rent and the money she will use for other things such as food and clothing. Lucy sat down at her desk, trying to think of anything she could quickly write into her novel before heading over to the guild. Lucy quickly found her mind going back to the black-haired Dragon Slayer.

"Well... I guess Gajeel can be sweet when he wants to." Lucy said, her mind off her novel and instead on Gajeel. There was of course honesty when she spoke to Lily about Gajeel being a good man at heart. And there was the fact that he gave her more of the reward than himself. "Deep down, he's just a rough diamond."

Lucy boredly let out a breath through her lips, tapping the tip of her pencil against her desk as she waited for inspiration to hit her. The Celestial Spirit mage placed her pencil on her desk, coming to terms with the fact that she won't be writing anything this morning. Grabbing her keyring and reattaching it to her belt, Lucy left her house and locked her door before heading to the guild, as it was still barely close to noon. Lucy made her way to the guild and entered through the front doors, her guildmates waving towards her as a greeting. Lucy waved back towards her guildmates, however her brown eyes were darting around the guild, trying to see if she could spot Gajeel, however he was nowhere to be seen, not even in the dark corners where he could usually be seen. Lucy didn't know why she was looking for him specifically, nor why she felt a little sad when she couldn't find him, but that didn't change that that was what happened.

Lucy sat down at the bar, Mirajane was instantly in front of her with a strawberry milkshake. "So how was your mission?" Mirajane asked in a special interest, placing the milkshake in front of Lucy. The Take Over mage leaned in front of the blonde and her pink concoction, sparkles were in her irises and her pupils were starting to take on the shapes of love hearts. Lucy mentally rolled her eyes and mentally sighed in annoyance, already realising Mirajane's agenda. "Did he give you a good time like last time? Was he kind to you? Did he protect you?"

"Well he did protect me when it turned out that the bandits were really a Dark Guild and their leader sent a lightning attack towards me, and he gave me more than half of the money when we got back here." Lucy started, but was interrupted by a shrill gasp that came from Mirajane.

"He took a lightning attack for you? Did he do it willingly?" Mirajane asked, her eyes turning into love hearts completely as her face went pink, even more love hearts appearing and floating around the eldest Strauss sibling. However the love hearts and pink blush disappeared as Mirajane realised that the bandits were a part of a Dark Guild. "Wait, did anything bad happen at the Dark Guild?"

"I ended up exhausting my magic power during the battle. Because of that, Gajeel made me promise him that I wouldn't use my magic today." Lucy said, taking a drink from her strawberry milkshake.

Mirajane was going to say something, but stopped as she noticed an approaching figure, a big smile growing on her face. "I made you promise that because you almost collapsed after you summoned a Celestial Spirit during our night out." Gajeel's familiar baritone voice said as the Dragon Slayer approached and sat next to her, Lily flying over the two mages and landing down on the bar's counter. Gajeel looked at Mirajane, unamused. "And I only protected Bunny Girl 'cause she's a friend, don't go thinkin' there's some special reason why I would protect a guildmate, 'kay?"

Mirajane and Panther Lily felt a feeling of despondency at Gajeel's words, but were still set on their plans for Gajeel and Lucy. Panther Lily's eyes widened as he remembered the reason why he came to the guild today, the Exceed looking towards Mirajane. "Mira, can I please speak to you in private?" Lily asked Mirajane, the Satan Soul mage nodding, Panther Lily grew Angel-like wings on his back and flew into the guild's storage room, Mirajane following after him. Lucy and Gajeel sat next to each other as Mirajane and Panther Lily disappeared to do who knows what, the former sipping on her milkshake as the latter didn't have anything to drink because his cat took away the barmaid before she could give him a drink.

"We're back!" Natsu yelled as he kicked the guild doors open, Lisanna followed in after the Fire Dragon Slayer as he was marching in inexplicably, the Animal Take Over mage smiling happily as she followed after her Dragon Slayer mate. Happy flew in after the two, landing on Lucy's head.

"Lushy!" Happy cried on top of the blonde mage, said blonde mage taking him off her head and holding him in front of herself. "Natsu and Lisanna were so mean to me on that mission! After we were done, we went fishing; I caught so many big and yummy fishies, but then Natsu and Lisanna told me that I couldn't eat any more fishies and Natsu even burned them! Can I live with you, please?"

"Hey, we only stopped you because you already ate three fishes that were at least four times your size!" Lisanna argued at Happy, her hands on her hips and looking at him like a mad mother. Natsu suddenly stilled as he was in front of Lucy, the Dragon Slayer sniffing her.

"Hey, stop that!" Lucy yelled at Natsu angrily, him away by the face with powerful force, though Natsu just resumed sniffing the blonde, to her ire. Lucy decided to ignore Natsu, hoping that he would stop what he was doing if she pretended he wasn't there, the Celestial Spirit mage looking at the Happy as she put him on the bar counter. "Okay, Happy, you can stay with me. But on one condition: you're no longer allowed to insult me or make fun of me."

Happy looked at Lucy before looking at Lisanna and then back at Lucy before blinking, the process continuing as a seemingly unending cycle until Happy stopped at Lisanna. "No dice." Happy said as he flew onto Lisanna's head and sat there, his surrogate mother huffing in minor annoyance at the cat-like creature's behaviour.

Natsu's eyes suddenly shot open angrily, literal fire in his eyes as he looked at the Iron Dragon Slayer sitting next to Lucy. "GAJEEL!" Natsu yelled angrily, his voice being heard throughout the guild, aiming a fist on fire towards the black-haired man. Gajeel jumped away, avoiding more and more punches that Natsu sent his way. Gajeel caught Natsu's fist as the Fire Drago Slayer aimed a fist for his head, however Natsu inhaled the air and shot a powerful beam of fire at Gajeel, sending him flying in the air. The mid-air Gajeel spun around and aimed a leg towards Natsu, turning it into an iron pole that he shot at the Fire Dragon Slayer's face. Natsu was sent flying away from the pole as Gajeel landed, the pink-haired man landing in a somersault. Natsu ran towards Gajeel, the two Dragon Slayers rapidly punching and kicking each other with great speed and strength, having a battle in the middle of the guild. Their guildmates originally watched the fight, though they soon ignored it as they assumed it was another meaningless battle that the two had so often.

Lisanna, however, knew Natsu enough to know that this was more than just him wanting a brawl with Gajeel. "Why is Natsu so angry at Gajeel?" Lisanna asked Lucy, turning her head towards the busty blonde, concern on her face for both of her Dragon Slayer guildmates (and just mate, period, in Natsu's case). Happy regrew his angelic wings created from his Aera magic and flew around Lucy, sniffing her with his enhanced cat sense of smell.

"Lucy smells a lot like Gajeel down there like how Natsu smells a lot like you down there." Happy commented in a seemingly innocent way, sitting back on Lisanna's head. Lisanna stared at Lucy, a red-hot blush appearing on both of their faces.

"That is very private information, Happy." Lucy snapped at the little Exceed as she regained control of herself. Happy flew off of Lisanna's head and onto the rafters, far away from 'Mean Old Lucy'. Lucy would have probably tried to catch the Exceed, but she was stopped as Lisanna had her hands in her own.

"Are you and Gajeel now an item?" Lisanna asked excitedly as she looked at Lucy, her eyes holding the same shine as Mirajane's.

" _She's definitely Mira's little sister alright._ " Lucy thought as Lisanna continued to ask her questions regarding Gajeel and her, occasionally stopping to comment about how much of a cute couple she thinks Gajeel and the celestial blonde would be. Lucy was about dismiss the Take Over mage about her little shipping plan, but the guild doors once again slammed open.

"Jeez, can't you go on for two seconds without getting into a fight, Flame Idiot?" Gray asked in annoyance as he and Juvia entered through the doors, the rain woman in complete joy as she held Gray's clothes, sans boxers, the Ice-Make mage having seemingly stripped himself along the way. Gray's annoyance worsened as Natsu and Gajeel continued their fight, the Ice-Make mage deciding to just ignore the two idiots, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek as they sat down at the bar with their guildmates.

"Hey, Juvia." Lucy greeted.

"Lucy-san!" Juvia exclaimed excitedly, squeezing the blonde in a tight hug.

"Juvia...you're crushing...my bones and...my...organs." Lucy breathed painfully as her friend held her tightly.

Juvia's eyes widened at Lucy, the powerful Water mage letting go of her Celestial Spirit mage friend. "Juvia is so sorry, Lucy-san." Juvia apologised as Lucy crawled back up onto her barstool, taking deep breaths to regain the air squeezed out of her. "Why are Gajeel-kun and Natsu-kun fighting so angrily?" Juvia asked as she looked as Gajeel was trying to keep Natsu away from him with a sword that he turned his arm into while the pink-haired was continuing his relentless attack, the blue-haired woman also noticing the slight difference in their battle.

"Gajeel and Lucy have been making love with each other." Lisanna answered, the Strauss sibling looking a little too happy about the fact. Juvia's eyes widened, a bright blush appearing on her face. Gray's eyes had also widened, however unlike Juvia his face turned into a angry snarl, his right arm becoming surrounded by black markings as he activated his Devil Slayer Magic and ran at Gajeel. Juvia ignored her friend as he was trying to fend off against an irate Devil Slayer and a furious Dragon Slayer, instead focussing on her former 'love rival's current love life.

"Lucy-san and Gajeel-kun are making babies together?" Juvia said, her eyes holding the same shine and sparkle that Mirajane and Lisanna had. Oh come on! Juvia cupped her head in her hands, the water elemental on the verge of swooning. Mirajane and Panther Lily came out of the storage room, the latter mildly surprised to see Gray and Natsu attacking Gajeel with emotions akin to murderous rage. "Juvia can imagine it now, Lucy-san and Gajeel-kun's little babies playing with Juvia and Gray-sama's babies. Juvia cannot wait for the wedding. Speaking of, when is the wedding? Can Juvia please be a bridesmaid? Juvia knows we used to fight on a near daily basis for Gray-sama's affection, but surely we are still best friends."

"There is no wedding!" Lucy yelled, her face turning red from rage and another emotion, flailing her arms at her friends. "Gajeel and I are not going to get married, we're not even boyfriend and girlfriend. We're just friends with benefits. And you two, knock it off!"

That last sentence was aimed at Natsu and Gray, as even though they were clearly having the advantage over Gajeel, with the Iron Dragon Slayer even barely able to fight back, they didn't stop or weaken their attacks in the slightest. Lucy growled, taking out her whip and swinging it at Natsu and Gray from behind, taking the two mages by surprise and causing them to fly into the guild doors. It was just at that moment that Erza and Jellal appeared through the same doors, Natsu and Gray landing on top of the red-haired S-Class mage. Natsu and Gray got back up with a groan, both preparing to continue their attack on Gajeel, though they were stopped as a frightening presence was behind them.

Shakily, Natsu and Gray turned around to see Erza in her Purgatory Armour, her angry eyes giving and armour giving her an appearance that felt like a demon. A demon that even the Devil Slayer of the two was too afraid of to slay. With a powerful swing of her mace, Erza sent Natsu and Gray flying to the other side of the guild, both of them unconscious. Lucy ignored the two, angry that they would attack their guildmate like that just because he slept with her, approaching and kneeling down at Gajeel.

The Iron Dragon Slayer groaned in pain, his body covered in purple bruises. Lucy felt sorry for Gajeel because of his injuries, even though she knew that they should be long gone by the end of the day nevertheless because of his Dragon Slayer regenerative abilities. Lucy extended a hand down towards Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer looking at her hand and groaning before taking hold of it and letting Lucy help him get back up. Natsu and Gray were running towards Gajeel again, the two having regained their consciousness, but were stopped as Lucy went between them and Gajeel.

"Natsu, Gray, stop." Lucy ordered, holding out her Fleuve d'étoiles in front of both herself and the two males.

"What's going on here?" Erza asked, the Requip mage back in her regular armour, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Jellal made his way to the guild bar, watching the conversation going on with his girlfriend and her team. Erza looked at the beat up, yet still standing, Gajeel before glaring at Natsu and Gray. "Why have you two attacked Gajeel so relentlessly?"

"Because the metal-faced idiot stuck his dick in Lucy." Gray answered, sending a glare towards Gajeel. Gajeel glared back at Gray, the Dragon Slayer making a small movement, about to attack Gray, but was stopped when Lucy put her hand on his chest, looking back at him with a small shake of the head. Gajeel's muscles tensed, the Dragon Slayer undoing his slight movement. Lucy looked back at Erza, the S-Class mage having her eyes closed as she hummed, processing the information. Lucy sucked in the air through her teeth, if she had to restrain Natsu, Gray _and_ Erza from hurting Gajeel any further then she may not be able to do that much for the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Was it consensual?" Erza asked as she looked at Lucy and Gajeel. "The sex, I mean. Did he do it with your consent?"

"Yeah, of course he did. I wouldn't be protecting him if he had sex with me without my consent." Lucy said, looking back at Gajeel, his bruises were already shrinking and becoming of a lighter colour. Lucy smiled as the bruises were disappearing, happy that her friend was healing from the attack done by her overprotective teammates. Lucy looked back at Erza, a certain feeling of dread returning.

"If it is consensual, then I see no problem with it." Erza answered, giving both Gajeel and Lucy a supportive smile. The Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit both mentally pressed their palms against their foreheads, knowing that there is a high chance that Erza has joined the group of people that think that the two are in any way a couple. Lucy and Gajeel looked at each other in the eyes, getting trapped in each other's eyes like a pair of battling hypnotists. Then again, maybe being with each other wouldn't be...

The two mages shook their heads, getting the thoughts of a romantic relationship with each other out of their heads. The two looked back at their guildmates, shared expressions of minor confusion on their faces at the two mage's actions. Erza, despite being confused like everyone else, turned her head back to Natsu and Gray, a serious expression on her face.

"Natsu, Gray, I know you two are protective of Lucy, just like Laxus and Freed. I know because I am protective of Lucy as well." Erza said, her voice calm and almost advising. "But we must remember that despite the past Gajeel is a very loyal member of our guild and a member of our family, I ask that you please calm down and give it time, and hopefully you will be okay with Gajeel and Lucy's current relationship, whenever it be romantic or not."

Erza then calmly passed by the Dragon Slayer and Ice-Make mage, making her way to the bar where she ordered a slice of strawberry cheesecake that would be only the first of many this day. Lucy and Gajeel looked back at Natsu and Gray, the two mages having a rather guilty expression on their faces.

"Hey, uh, Luce…" Natsu started, scratching the back of his head uncertainly. "We... we're sorry for what we just did."

"Yeah, Natsu and I are really sorry for that." Gray said.

To everyone's surprise, even Gajeel's, Lucy made an annoyed huff at the two. "While I would forgive you nonetheless, _I_ am not the one you should be apologizing to. That one that you should be apologizing to is _Gajeel_." Lucy said, pointing to the Iron Dragon Slayer, his bruises almost healed completely. "He is the one that you two attacked, if anyone should be apologized to then it is him, not me."

Natsu and Gray blinked and looked at Gajeel and then back to Lucy, the blonde gesturing them to get on with apologizing. Natsu let out a sigh. "Fine then. Gajeel, I'm sorry for beatin' you up like that, do you forgive me?"

"Um, yeah I'm also sorry for beating you up. Are we better now?" Gray said, scratching the back of his head and looking away.

Gajeel wasn't exactly all too forgiving for the gratuitous beatdown the two gave him, but he could feel Lucy's hand touch his own, the black-haired man looking down the blonde. Gajeel sighed, damn Bunny Girl. "Fine then I forgive you and yadda yadda yadda." Gajeel said, quickly walking to the bar and taking a mug of alcohol before going to his usual spot in the dark corners of his guild, returning to his lonesome disposition. Lucy let out a little sigh of relief that things concluded better than they could have.

Lucy went to the bar, joining her friends. Lucy looked back at Gajeel, seeing him even as he blended in with the shadows around him, looking away from her as he drank his alcohol, Panther Lily sitting beside him. For a few seconds, Lucy could hear her own heartbeat as she looked at Gajeel before looking away, a strangely sad sigh escaping from under her breath. Gajeel made a quick glance towards Lucy, the blonde seemingly covered in a heavenly glow unlike anything else he saw, the same old thing in him wanting to once again pounce her and do God knows what to her.

Gajeel looked away, shaking his head, trying to vanquish those weird thoughts arising within him.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Poor Gajeel and Lucy, they just keep on denying their feelings for each other. Sorry if parts of this feel a little weird or oddly written... I have admittedly found myself in a bit of writer's block whilst writing this.**

 **Oh well, if the overall chapter is still good than it's still good (obviously). Yeah, this chapter is a little shorter than the last two, but not by that much.**

 **If you can leave a review, it would be appreciated; hearing someone's thoughts about what they think of this fic can work as fuel for writing more of it. Though you only need to review if want to, I'm not tryin' to force you to leave a review.**

 **Toodle-oo.**


	6. Teams Die To Time

Lucy twirled her pen around in her fingers as she sat at her desk, exhaling in bored annoyance. It had been a day since that mission she took with Gajeel (and Panther Lily), since they took down an entire Dark Guild (with the exception of their guild master, who managed to escape after being defeated). It had also been a day since the rest of her team found out about her new friends with benefits status with Gajeel (and what felt like hours of having to convince them that she and Gajeel are _not_ in a relationship) and that had came out better than expected; Lucy didn't have to wait until Wendy returned to heal the Dragon Slayer.

Speaking of, Wendy and Carla are expected to return sometime today, unless they come across some sort of problem on their trip from Margaret Town back to Magnolia. Hopefully though the Sky Dragon Slayer and the Exceed shouldn't come across any problem of the sort.

Though Wendy and Carla were far from the main thing on Lucy's mind, the blonde giving a bleak grimace to the sheet of paper that laid in front of her on her desk, the words written in ink that has been dry for a long time now being a cruel reminder for the blonde that she had major writer's block and hasn't been able to write even a single letter for the last few days. Lucy grinded her two rows of teeth against each other, clenching the pencil in her hand to the point where she could hear the slight creaks and cracks as it was about to snap in half.

Lucy let go of her pencil, grabbing the front of her face before slamming her hands and head down on the desk. "Damn it! Damn it all!" Lucy yelled as she slumped back against her chair, her arms hanging limply from the area where they connected to her body. "Just bloody well leave alone already, writer's block. I'm trying to write a novel here and you're getting in my way!"

Lucy closed her eyes with an annoyed sigh. There was suddenly a sharp smacking sound right outside of Lucy's window, causing her eyes to shoot wide open, the same sound being followed by a yell of pain from Gajeel and the sound of Freed's runes. Lucy looked at her window, seeing many dark purple runes on the other side, with Gajeel behind the runes and rubbing his head, the Dragon Slayer being held up in the air by Panther Lily. Lucy approached the window and opened it, looking at the duo in surprise.

"What are you two doing here?" Lucy asked, looking at her friends in earnest confusion.

"Lily here got bored at home and wanted to see you." Gajeel responded as he finished rubbing the now healed bump on his head, slightly pointing at the Exceed that was carrying him. "And when I got to your window these runes suddenly appeared an' stopped me from gettin' in your house."

More runes appeared on the barrier, this time showing the 'rules' of the barrier, the dark purple writings translating as: _Anyone except Gajeel Redfox is allowed to move past this barrier_.

" _Geez, Freed, way to have such trust in your guildmates._ " Lucy thought as she read the runes, sighing in annoyance as she massaged one of her temples, knowing that she might end up finding herself yelling at her older brother. Protective siblings are all good until they become overprotective. " _When I see him again, I'm making him undo these runes, this time for real. I don't even care if I have to drag him here by the ear, I'm still making him do it._ "

"Great, so I'm basically locked outside of Bunny Girl's house until Minty Fresh decides to undo this rune barrier." Gajeel complained, Panther Lily was lowering both himself and the Iron Dragon Slayer down to the ground. Lucy ran down to the downstairs, opening the front door. Panther Lily flew into the blonde's apartment without a hitch, however Gajeel still ended up having his face flat against an invisible barrier as he retried entering Lucy's home. Lucy made a little sigh, her hand over her forehead; and she thought Gajeel was smarter than this. "Sorry, Bunny, but if you wanna fuck with me again then its gonna hafta be either on a mission or at my house."

"Your house?" Lucy asked, her confused tone causing Lily and Gajeel to look at her. "I've never really seen or heard of your house, I don't know anything about it. Dear God, please don't let your house be a total pigsty like Natsu's."

"Well, I try the best to my abilities to stop it from becoming one." Panther Lily said as he flew next to Lucy, the Exceed turning to look at the Dragon Slayer left unable to enter due to the rune barrier placed around Lucy's house. "Sadly though, Gajeel doesn't seem to have much of a concept of 'keeping one's house clean'. The clutter on the floor of his front room alone was enough of a sign to me that he needed my help."

"Hey! I can be clean and tidy whenever I want!" Gajeel angrily, pointing at Panther Lily from behind the magical barrier that kept him from entering the building.

Panther Lily smirked at the irate Dragon Slayer, the Exceed on sitting down on Lucy's shoulder, not that the busty Celestial Spirit mage minded. "So you're saying that you _intentionally_ left dishes with mouldy, dried up, crusty food lying on the floor and furniture when I moved in?" Lily asked with a smug grin, further annoying Gajeel. The Dragon Slayer just turned around and looked away, arms crossed over his chest. Lucy let out a little laugh, walking out of her house and passing through the barrier with Lily on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Slobby." Lucy said, patting Gajeel on the shoulder. Gajeel looked at Lucy, her eyes were closed but her smile was wide and showed her teeth, the Dragon Slayer looking away as that warm feeling in his chest and face returned. "When I see Freed again I'll get him to undo the rune barrier. Though I am interested in seeing what your house is like, if you really do wish for us to become a team in the future. Hope it's not as messy as Lily mentioned it was."

"No, I managed to change it to become much more liveable." Panther Lily said as he flew off Lucy's shoulder. While Gajeel was growling at Lily and clenching his to stop himself from attacking his cat, Lucy laughed at the Exceed's comment. Panther Lily smiled at Lucy, the Exceed still somewhat surprised that he could form such a friendship with Lucy. It just seemed to be in her nature, to create friendships with others regardless of the past. There was a reason why everyone called Lucy the Light of Fairy Tail.

"Go over to the guild, I'll meet you there soon. I just need to handle a few things first." Lucy said as she went back into her house and closed the door behind her. Gajeel grunted, making his way towards the guild. Despite Lily putting him in a bit of a sour mood, the Dragon Slayer did feel a certain happiness at his growing friendship with Lucy. After everything that he put her through for his amusement back in Phantom, he always had an underlying fear that she would secretly resent and hate him for trashing her guild and beating her and her friends. However the open trust and friendship she has shown towards Gajeel did help ease these fears. Lucy seems like a good friend, and only a friend, 'cause there is no way in Earth Land or any realm beyond that he is ever going to fall in love again and risk breaking up and going through _that_ hell again.

Panther Lily walked alongside Gajeel towards the guild, the Exceed feeling like he was becoming a little lazy by relying on his Aera Magic. "Lucy sure is nice, isn't she?" Panther Lily said to Gajeel. By all accounts, Gajeel had hurt Lucy to the point where she shouldn't have forgiven him, and yet as far as Lily was certain it was almost like the black-haired and blonde had been good friends for years.

"Yeah, Bunny Girl is hella nice but she ain't some pacifistic angel 24/7, y'know." Gajeel replied, his mind going to the aforementioned blonde. "Push her buttons wrong an' you'll be in for a real world of pain and trouble. She may be dainty... not counting her watermelon-sized boobs, but she seriously kicks a lotta ass."

Panther Lily could definitely concur with Gajeel's claim, especially after seeing Lucy in their battle against Wendigo Skull, especially after seeing the amazing and true power and might of her Urano Metria spell. It was no secret to Lily that, while not as experienced as many other mages around her age, Lucy was certainty just as strong as if not stronger than most around her age; something that impressed Panther Lily, especially after hearing and reading that holder-type magic is usually a lot weaker than ability-type magic. And from what other information Panther Lily could find, unlike most other mages in the guild, Lucy didn't start training her magic until she was already in her teens.

It seemed true to Lily that Lucy can be a really powerful mage, and if she did train as long as the other mages in the guild then she would probably be an S-Class wizard.

Gajeel sniffed at the air as he and Lily approached the guild, the Dragon Slayer making a grunt as he recognised the two scents he picked up. "They're here." Gajeel said ambiguously, causing Lily to become confused and give Gajeel a raised eyebrow. There wasn't a sense of foreboding, anger or fear in the Iron Dragon Slayer's voice, but he didn't exactly sound happy or jovial either. In fact, it sounded more like he was only acknowledging the existence of the mysterious individuals. However Lily's nose picked up the two scents - distinguished them - before the two opened the doors to the guild, the Exceed now knowing who Gajeel was talking about.

Sitting at a table was Levy McGarden, and right next to her was her boyfriend. Levy was wearing a long, sleeveless dress with detached sleeves and the usual bandana that she wore.

Darian, Levy's new boyfriend, was between average height and being tall. He has long brown hair that was tied into a long ponytail situated at the back of his head, usually wore different clothes except for an open trench coat and had a small goatee on his chin. He is late in his teens, very late. In fact in only a few months he'll be twenty years old. He's a user of Fire Magic and Earth Magic. Gajeel would admit that Darian is a strong mage, at least in comparison to other mages in the guild, but he is defiantly not an S-Class. No, not by a longshot. In fact Gajeel thinks he'll have at least two or three more years before he is even considered for the S-Class Trials.

"Gajeel!" Levy greeted the Iron Dragon Slayer happily when she noticed him, giving him a smile and waving at him. Gajeel smiled back at his ex-girlfriend, waving back at her as he made his way to the bar, ordering a mug of molten iron. Despite his lost feelings for the Solid Script mage, Gajeel was happy that he and Levy were friends prior and subsequent to their romantic relationship.

After a few minutes of doing nothing but eating metal and drinking molten iron, Gajeel heard the guild's doors open and Lucy's sweet scent tickled at his nose. Gajeel didn't know the reason why, but he turned his head around and smiled at Lucy as she waved at her guildmates. Levy suddenly tackled Lucy with a hug, the blonde stumbling back slightly at first before hugging the bluenette back.

"It's real good to see you again, Lu." Levy said, almost nuzzling her head into Lucy's neck. For some reason Gajeel felt a possessive feeling as he watched his ex-girlfriend nuzzle in his friend with benefits' chest, his lips curling as a growl snuck out from between his teeth like an octopus. Gajeel knew that Bunny Girl and Shrimp have been the best of inseparable friends since at least a week or two after Bunny joined the guild and spent a lot of time together, even when Shrimp used to be with him and now that she is with Darian. But how close they looked... Gajeel just wanted to rip Shrimp off of Bunny Girl and take the blonde to his house and do... something with her. Levy stopped her hug with Lucy, taking the blonde's hands in her own as her eyes held a shiny sparkle. "Darian and I have been on our mission for far too long, there is so much that we have to catch up on. Oh, and you gotta show me what you have wrote for your novel since last time."

Levy immediately started to drag Lucy by the arms to the table that she and Darian sat at, the blonde giving Gajeel an apologetic smile for some reason as her Solid Script best friend dragged her to the wooden piece of furniture. "Do you think she'll find out and become jealous?" Lily asked as he sat next to Gajeel. The Exceed noticed how unknowingly possessive Gajeel became as he saw someone else become so seemingly intimate with Lucy, and while Lily knew that he would have to persuade Gajeel to come to terms with his feelings for Lucy, a part of him was worrying that Gajeel and Lucy's current relationship could hurt the friendship the blonde has with Levy, Gajeel's ex. "Levy is Lucy's best friend, but what if she becomes jealous when she learns of you and Lucy's new relationship."

Gajeel grunted, munching on metal like Levy finding out was of absolutely no concern. "Shrimp didn't get even slightly mad when she heard of the many one-night stands I had after we broke up. Hell, Shrimp even told me that she has no problems with me goin' into a new relationship." Gajeel replied, chugging down his molten iron. "'Sides, Shrimp an' Bunny are too close to start hatin' each other 'cause Bunny and I are fuckin'."

Panther Lily looked up at Gajeel, taking the Iron Dragon Slayer's word for it. Lily looked back at the two females and male, Levy's eyes were shining while a droplet of sweat was falling down the side of Lucy's head from embarrassment. Panther Lily had a feeling that this interaction may be the end result of Levy already finding out what was currently going on between Lucy and Gajeel, giving him hope that their friendship will survive. Nevertheless Panther Lily sighed and started eating some kiwis (including the peels) as he looked away, hoping that Lucy won't drift away from Levy. It already seems like she and her (old) team were drifting away.

* * *

"So what has been going with you while I was away?" Levy asked Lucy with eager interest, the short, blue-haired woman shaking slightly in excitement. Levy then gave Lucy a suggestive wink. "Did you find the special guy that you want to make your eternal vow with?"

"Actually I've decided to put my love life on hiatus for the time being. There's too many horrible dates." Lucy answered. Sadly though both what she and Levy had said had caused those images in Lucy's head of her being something more than a friend with benefits with Gajeel to come back with a vengeance than from when they came during her night with him at Orchid Town, the blonde trying to will away the pink colour appearing on her cheeks as her body fidgeted. "I've recently decided that for a while I'll have a sex life without a love life."

"Oh no, Lu, you shouldn't give up on romance like that." Levy said to Lucy.

"I'm not 'giving up', I'm just waiting for eligible possible lovers to appear." Lucy said.

"I see no objection in you letting time pass until you find 'the one', if you even want to find a romantic partner, Lucy." Darian said, taking a quick drink from a non-alcoholic drink, more than likely juice. "It is not a good idea to rush anything. Sometimes you have to be patient for certain things to happen, including love. It is good to be patient when looking for love and one day you will find it, like I did when I joined the guild and met my Levy."

Levy giggled as she sat near Darian, the man wrapping an arm around her before pulling her close to him and kissing her temple, causing the Solid Script mage to giggle even more. Lucy smiled at Levy and Darian, even though she herself had, quite frankly, a horrible love life and is currently putting it on pause, she still couldn't help but feel happy for her best friend and that she managed to find love.

"So, Lu, how has your other life been going?" Levy asked Lucy, leaning over the table as she looked at her best friend. Levy noticed that Lucy gave her confused look at the contextless question, the blue-haired female mage understanding that she would need to clarify her question. "I'm talking about your sex life. I know that it sounds perverted and unlike anything I would ever ask, but it is currently standing in for your love life. So tell me, how has your sex life been going?"

Lucy blushed at Levy's words, looking at her in wide-eyed surprise. "Oh, um..." Lucy stammered in embarrassment, looking away from Levy as she scratched the back of her head. "My decision to put my love life on hold is fairly recent, currently though there is only one person I... um, had sexual intercourse with."

"And that is...?" Levy inquired.

"L-Lev! You shouldn't pry into something so private in your friends life." Darian spluttered as he looked at his surprisingly and suddenly perverted girlfriend, his face turning a deep crimson. "How would you feel if someone suddenly started asking us about our sex life?"

"I-it's Gajeel." Lucy answered, causing Levy and Darian to look at her with wide eyes. A great sensation of discomfort pulsed through Lucy, the eyes of the blue-haired mage in front of her feeling like body-crushing weights that sat on her shoulders. It was maybe something that Lucy should have thought through a little more thoroughly, having sex with Gajeel. There was Levy's past relationship with Gajeel, and even though she was with someone else now, there was the possibility of her becoming jealous in the end. And with Lucy's friendship with the Solid Script mage, she didn't want it to go on the rocks. Levy's reaction, however, surprised Lucy as she gave the blonde the same look of shining eyes that virtually every other girl in Fairy Tail who was aware of Gajeel and Lucy's new and growing relationship of easing the beast between their legs. And like virtually every other girl, she was quick to presume.

"Wow, Lu. I never knew that you and Gajeel fancied each other." Levy said as she looked at Lucy, causing a droplet of sweat to fall down Lucy's head in annoyance. Levy turned her hand into a fist and gently tapped it against Lucy's arms, mimicking a punch, smiling at her with one eye closed. "C'mon, Lu, you gotta tell me stuff like this. You and Gajeel sound like you would make a great couple."

"We are not a couple, we are just friends... Special kinds of friends." Lucy replied, one of her hands going up to her forehead, the fingers of the same hand massaging the same area of her face. "Everyone needs to calm down and stop thinking that Gajeel and I have a relationship that goes beyond just simple sex."

"How was Gajeel even able to do that with you when your brothers are so overprotective?" Darian asked.

"He barely did, I even had to stop them from obliterating Gajeel the day after." Lucy answered, finding annoyance in her older brothers' protectiveness, even though she did feel a sensation of warmness from how heartfelt they cared about her and that their intentions were usually in the right place. "Freed has even put runes around my house to forbid Gajeel from entering. Honestly, when I see him again he's getting one hell of an earful before I make him..."

Lucy suddenly paused in her rant as a realisation struck her, the Celestial Spirit mage slowly turning her head towards Levy, a smile slowly growing on her face. "Um, Lucy... what's with the creepy face?" Levy asked, feeling uncomfortable under the smile Lucy was giving her.

"Levy, aren't you able to change and disable Freed's rune enchantments because you both use Letter Magic, even if they are different forms." Lucy asked.

"Yeah, especially when I have a Light Pen on hand." Levy responded, holding the aforementioned magical tool in one of her hands. Where she was holding it until she had it in her hand was a mystery to Lucy.

"Good. Do you think you could do me a favour and get rid of the runes around my house?" Lucy asked Levy, taking the Solid Script mage's two hands into her own, giving Levy little puppy eyes.

"You know I could never say no to you, Lucy. And after that I can see how much work you've done on your novel." Levy said as she and Lucy got off the table and started walking towards Lucy's home to undo the runes Freed put around Lucy's home. Levy suddenly squeezed herself right next to Lucy, a mischievous smile on the blue-haired woman's face. "And after we're done with that we can talk about the saucy stuff that has been going on between you and Gajeel."

* * *

Theodora sat in the dark dungeon of Dark Sect's headquarters, sitting in a dank and dirty cell as she remained stuck in there due to cuffs around her wrists that were connected to chins connected to the wall on the other side of the cell's door. Theodora sat down, her back against the wall, her arms up as the connecting point between the chains and the wall were far above her. The cuffs made Theodora's wrists feel sore, and with how tight they were and how it felt like they were trying to pull her up, it almost felt like they were going to dislocate the bone joint. Theodora would have otherwise used her Lightning Magic to change her body into the element and escape not only the cuffs, but also the cell and the entire dungeon. However the cuffs surrounding her wrists were also made to negate magic, so that option was unavailable for the thin woman. And even then, if she did turn into lightning and escape, Lord Xan would surely end her because of it.

The metal door of the dungeon made a clicking sound for a split second before creaking open, revealing the silhouette of a familiar feminine figure. "Dora?" Evangeline said as she entered the dungeon, even though she was still mostly obscured by the darkness, Theodora's eyes managed to adjust as Evangeline came closer, making out more of her friend's features. Evangeline held a bowl in her hand, containing a liquid. If Theodora could focus on the liquid, she could see what looks like steam, even with the darkness and smell a certain aroma from the liquid, which Theodora now determined as soup. "I thought that you would be hungry. Lord Xan has allowed me to give you some soup, but you won't be released until tomorrow." Evangeline explained as she put the bowl down in front of Theodora.

Evangeline tapped one of her fingers against the chains, tiny runes on them started to glow with magical energy. The chains began to descend downwards, although it was more like the chains were growing longer. Nevertheless it allowed Theodora to lower down her arms and move them more easily, though the cuffs were still tight, so Theodora's wrists still felt sore, but she knew to be thankful for what Lord Xan has allowed for her while she's still undergoing her punishment.

Evangeline held out a spoon towards Theodora, the end of the handle being squeezed between her thumb and index finger. Theodora took the spoon out of Evangeline's hand, putting the oval into the bowl, letting it fill with the soup. Theodora could see through the darkness that there was nothing in the soup, that it was nothing more than the liquid. Theodora brought the spoon to her lips, sipping the entire liquid in the oval, having a tomato flavour. Theodora continued this process as Evangeline watched, guilt within the green-haired woman's onyx-coloured eyes, only unnoticed by Theodora because of how well they blended in with the dungeon's darkness.

Eventually the bowl was nearly empty, all that remained of the tomato soup were a few small drops. Theodora put the spoon into the bowl, but she didn't take it back out, finished with her meal. "I'm... I'm sorry that I can't do anything else for you, Dora." Evangeline said as she took the small bowl back into her hand, walking out of the cell and closing its door.

"It's okay, Evan." Theodora responded.

Evangeline stared at her friend, seeing her smile through the darkness of the dungeon, droplets of tears rising in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry... but once I leave this dungeon the chains will return back to their old length." The Water Magic user said after a shaky breath, her voice sounding slightly broken. Evangeline went ack through the door, the only light source in the dungeon outside of the prison window on the wall to Theodora's side, closing and locking it behind her. The clicking sound returned, the tiny runes that decorated Theodora's chains glowed again, receding back into the wall, causing the blue-eyed woman's arms to be stuck facing upwards once more.

* * *

Freed was surrounded by multiple dark mages, albeit unconscious dark mages, with some of their weapons lying near them, broken. Freed huffed as every mage in the Dark Guild was seemingly defeated. These dark mages were so easy to defeat, even the mages of Ghoul Spirit, the guild Freed took down with the rest of the Thunder Legion before Laxus attempted to take over Fairy Tail. Of course Freed still couldn't help but worry about his little sister, even with his trust in her and the barrier he enchanted around her house, so he took a mission request to defeat a Dark Guild to blow off some steam.

Freed heard a groan behind him. Feeling no alarm at the groan, Freed turned around to look at the rising dark mage; the dark mage stared at Freed with a burning hatred as he gripped at his magical stave, a red magical energy appearing at the end of the trident-like weapon. Freed looked at the dark mage as he rose to his feet, an unamused, stoic expression on the green-haired mage's face. Freed let out a bored sigh, unsheathing his sword.

With an angry yell, the dark wizard in front of Freed pulled his magic stave back before swinging it towards him, multiple red, spear-like magical projectiles flew towards and homed in on Freed. "Dark Écriture: Reflect." Freed said as he wrote dark purple runes into the thin air with his sword, the spear-like projectiles homed in on the runes, flying back towards the mage that originally casted them. The mage screamed in shock, putting his magic stave in front of himself as a makeshift shield. The spears broke through the stave, breaking it into tiny splinters. The dark wizard was knocked unconscious by his own spell. Freed shook his head in disdain. "The mere fact that you decided to form a _Dark Guild_ is an insult to all good-hearted mages in this world. And your overall low level of magic power is an insult to all mages and magic in general."

Freed looked at the guild full of unconscious dark mages, sighing as he knew that none of them would be lucid enough to hear or listen to him. Freed began to pile the unconscious mages before surrounding them in runes that would not only prevent them from escaping, but also to stop them from using their magic (or lack thereof, in Freed's opinion). Freed knew that his rune enchantments would be useful for the Rune Knights, as it is public knowledge that every member of the Rune Knights are skilled in rune-based magic, specifically Jutsu Shiki Magic.

Freed already had multiple piles of the members of the Dark Guild in enchantments when a certain ringing began ringing in his head, like that of tiny, high-pitched bells. Freed recognised this ringing sound, it was a sound that would go off in his head whenever someone manipulated or undone the rune enchantments he made with his Jutsu Shiki Magic. Luckily Freed was able to understand and know which runes were being changed and what way they were being changed.

"Damn you, Levy." Freed growled as he recognised the changed runes being the ones around Lucy's house, and it wasn't hard for him to guess who undid the runes. Freed looked at the rest of the unconscious mages, piled and unpiled, in rune enchantments and not in rune enchantments. Freed made a guttural sound in annoyance, knowing that he would still have to trap all of the mages before he left. And Freed also knew that you must never rush when you make a Jutsu Shiki enchantment barrier. Freed sighed in annoyance, once he has all of the mages in a barrier he's heading back to Magnolia as soon and as fast as possible.

* * *

Sheets of iron and metal nails crunched between Gajeel's teeth as he chewed on them before swallowing, the Iron Dragon Slayer obviously eating the element in his magic's name. After Shrimp an' Bunny Girl left to get rid of the runes around Bunny's house, Gajeel decided to take some metal (mainly sheets of iron and nails) and sit at a table in a corner and eat the metal. "Oh Gajeel..." Mirajane said in a sing-song voice as she approached the Dragon Slayer, holding a plate in her hand. On the plate was slices of roast beef, roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, onion slices, all covered in copious amounts of gravy; emitting a smell that was quite pleasant and noticeable to Gajeel.

Mirajane smiled as she set the plate down onto Gajeel's table, right next to his pile of metal. The Satan Soul mage cooked the food to get the Dragon Slayer's attention, and she was quite happy that it worked.

Gajeel focussed his eyes on the barmaid, a low growl coming from his throat as he easily realised that the plate full of food was for Mirajane's devious plans. And knowing the main subject for any devious plans that the Take Over mage would have, Gajeel personally would have absolutely none of that. Then again the food looked and smelled absolutely mouth-watering. Maybe if Gajeel just ate the food and come of as indifferent to the inevitable questions Mirajane has for him, she'll give up and leave him alone. And maybe she'll do that period, no more trying to revive his love life in general.

Mirajane kept her happy and cheerful smile as Gajeel took the plate and picked up the knife and fork placed next to the plate and began digging in. Despite the food's good smell quickly attracting the attention of guildmates, especially as it permeated throughout the wooden building, they all quickly turned their heads away and tried all that they could to ignore the Take Over mage and Dragon Slayer, already aware that it was another one of Mirajane's endeavours. Even those who were already in relationships knew it was best to ignore. The fact that it was _Gajeel_ that she was trying to meddle with made it all the much more worse.

"You know, Lucy sure does look beautiful today, don't you think? Maybe you should ask her out." Mirajane said to the Iron Dragon Slayer with an innocent-looking wink. Gajeel ignored Mirajane, cutting off a piece of the slices of roast beef and soaking it in the gravy before putting the piece in his mouth and eating it. Mirajane made a low and quiet growl in her throat, heard only by the Dragon Slayer sitting next to her (who had inwardly smirked at her annoyance), curling her hand into a tight fist. If Gajeel was going to try to ignore her then he has another thing coming. After Panther Lily told her about everything that went on between Gajeel and Lucy during their mission, especially when they slept together on the train ride back, Mirajane was now fully determined to get Lucy and Gajeel together. Even if she has to out stubborn a Dragon Slayer. Mirajane kept her happy guise, pretending that Gajeel wasn't ignoring her. "I heard from Lily that you want Lucy to form a team with you. Maybe it's because you want to spend more time with her, like maybe you _love_ her."

Gajeel stiffened, a gravy-soaked carrot piece connected to a fork near his mouth as his body stopped. Mirajane's happy smile turned more akin to a smirk, knowing that she finally got Sir Grouchy McStubborn to react. Gajeel swallowed down the food in his mouth, looking at Mirajane with his commonplace glower. "I wanted Bunny Girl to become a team with me because she's a strong and awesome mage. I don't have feelings for her."

Mirajane's happy smile turned into a little frown at Gajeel, the black-haired man continuing to eat his food. The guild's doors opened, revealing Wendy and Carla, the Dragon Slayer having a happy smile on her face while the Exceed just kept an impassive expression on her face. Happy flew towards Carla, love hearts in his eyes and a big fish with a red ribbon tied around it in his paws. "Hi, everybody. We're back." Wendy said cheerily as she waved at her guildmates, small shopping bags full of small gifts for her friends were hanging from around her arms.

"Well I'm sure that if you and Lucy were to try to date each other, you may end up enjoying being together." Mirajane said, too busy trying to make Gajeel understand his true feelings for Lucy (or at least the true feelings she thinks he has for the Celestial Spirit mage) to greet one of her personal favourite guildmates. "You two might even realise that there is more to friendship than just that. You two could have feelings for each other that you're not aware of yet."

Gajeel growled at Mirajane's insistence at interfering with both his and his friend's love life, the fork in one of his hands bending as he gripped it in his rage. "Bunny Girl an' I are only friends that are fucking each other, there ain't no romance between us. You should stop trying to meddle with our love life when we want nothin' to do with them." Gajeel snarled at Mirajane, the Take Over mage being startled by the anger in Gajeel's blood-red eyes. Generally Mirajane could take on more damage than most other humans - even when not in a transformation - however Gajeel is a Dragon Slayer, so he can deal out stronger attacks than most other mages. Mirajane knew that it would be her fault if Gajeel ended up attacking her, as it seems like he's giving her a warning, but knew that she should be prepared to transform into one of her Satan Souls - to be able to take on Gajeel's attacks without suffering too much damage.

Wendy gave a confused look at Gajeel and Mirajane, the Sky Dragon Slayer walking to the bar as Carla followed her, still refusing Happy's attempts to make her try out some of his gift-wrapped fish. "What's happening? What's going on between Gajeel and Mira?" Wendy asked Lisanna and Kinana, as they were helping Mirajane with handing out drinks since there were more members than usual present at the guild.

Lisanna put a mug of orange juice in front of Wendy, the blue-haired girl thanking the youngest Strauss sibling. Carla was flying around the guild as she tried to get away from Happy, the blue-furred Exceed more determined than ever before to get Carla to return his affections. Carla was annoyed at Happy's attempts, though she would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying it slightly.

"Gajeel and Lucy have became more... intimate-like with each other, mainly in a way that you shouldn't be told in at least a few more years." Lisanna answered, watching her older sister as she was starting to get on the Iron Dragon Slayer's nerves. Lisanna squeezed one of her hands in worry as she watched. Lisanna knew that Big Sister Mira would most likely be okay, she is after all one of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages and one of its strongest (which is _really_ saying a lot), but it didn't change that if she would accidently provoke Gajeel into attacking her it would still be a battle between two members of the Fairy Tail family. And Lisanna had a feeling that the battle won't be like the usual guild brawls. "Big Sister Mira... is trying to get Gajeel and Lucy together because they are still only friends."

"Oh, have Lucy and Gajeel became friends in _that_ way?" Wendy said, her little face becoming extremely red and hot as she was beginning to realise the kind of friends that Gajeel and Lucy had became while she was visiting Sherria. Lisanna and Kinana looked at Wendy in wide-eyed shock, wondering how the usually innocent Dragon Slayer was able to piece together that Gajeel and Lucy had became friends with benefits (despite not explicitly saying it in that way). The two females then looked towards Macao and Wakaba, the two perverts drinking alcohol from a mug as they were trying to ignore what was going on between Mirajane and Gajeel like the rest of the guild. Lisanna and Kinana scowled at the two, even if they weren't really responsible it was the fact that people like them were in their guild that it was no wonder that Wendy was able to understand a concept like friends with benefits. The two just hoped that Asuka was able to keep her innocence.

"Y-Yes, they have." Lisanna responded.

"How did Natsu and Gray react when they first found out?" Wendy asked. At the top of the guild, on the ceiling rafters Carla crossed her arms and groaned in annoyance as Happy set next to her, nudging her with his fish wrapped in a red bow of string. Carla submitted, using her claws to cut the bow around the fish before biting into it, much to Happy's enjoyment and hope.

"If it wasn't for Erza, I don't think Gajeel would be here right now. At the least he would probably be healing in the infirmary." Lisanna answered, sighing at her boyfriend and friend's overprotectiveness. Even if she could understand why Natsu and Gray were protective of Lucy, with Lisanna herself even being a little guilty of protectiveness, the Animal Soul mage still felt that they could go a little overboard.

Okay, so a 'little' is a massive understatement.

"Ice Punk and I just reacted a bit too much. Luce will be fine." Natsu said, the usually loud and impossible to ignore Dragon Slayer sitting at the bar and eating the gigantic drumstick of a fowl that must have been big enough to eat an entire human. Happy fell down from the rafters, looking like his soul was ripped straight out of his body; the Exceed left heartbroken because Carla commented that the fish he gave her didn't taste good. Natsu raised an eyebrow at the melodramatic cat, seemingly not noticing nor caring that he was now biting into the bone of his food, the loud crunch coming as the leg bone broke in half, many more crunches - albeit more quiet ones - coming as he started to eat the piece of bone.

"I've already told you a million times, I _don't_ like seafood." Carla said as she flew down towards Happy, the white-furred cat creature's face having a mixed expression of annoyance and concern. "If you want me to like you that way, you should try something different than making me eat something I don't even like. You should try something more romantic in nature, like serenading me or buy some roses. At least attempting that would probably work."

Happy's eyes shot open, the Exceed jumping onto his feet. "I know what I must do, Carla." Happy said, one of his paws raised in the air in the shape of a fist.

Carla's face lit up, maybe this could finally work. "Yes, Happy, that's what I have been telling you. If you just-"

"I'll find you the biggest, fattest, most yummiest fish in Magnolia!" Happy yelled, the cat-like entity using Area to grow wings, flying out of the guild doors with the speed of a bullet.

Carla looked at the guild doors with her face frozen in the position it had before Happy spoke, except with her eyes left wide open. Carla's face became furious as her two paws were squeezing into the cat equivalent of a fist, her small body beginning to shake. "DID YOU LISTEN TO EVEN A SINGLE WORD THAT I JUST SAID?! I LITERALLY TOLD YOU THAT I DON'T LIKE SEAFOOD!" Carla yelled, the white-furred cat sighing as she knew it was meaningless with how far away Happy was now. Carla calmed herself down, focusing on her magic. Carla's body glowed, transforming into her human transformation. Carla sat down at the bar next to Wendy, massaging the top of her head. "I swear, he's just _trying_ to give me a migraine."

Lisanna chuckled under her breath, though she felt sorry and annoyed for Happy. While he was her son (at least that was the way Lisanna thought of it) and she felt sad for him that his attempts to gain Carla's affections kept on failing, but at the same time he was ignoring that Carla just didn't like seafood. Hell, she was even giving him advice on how to gain her affections. Lisanna decided that she'll have to help Happy first before helping Mirajane with finding Lucy a lover. A lover that would hopefully be Gajeel.

Lisanna heard the sound of a liquid being poured into a small container, the youngest Strauss sibling looking to see her older sister pouring an alcoholic drink into a wooden mug. Mirajane looked a little different, that is that she wasn't smiling and didn't have her usual cheery glow surrounding her. Mira also seemed like she was not willing to talk. Lisanna knew that Mira was not in a good mood, the youngest Strauss looking at Gajeel to see that he resumed eating his food, though he looked rather angry while doing so. Lisanna looked back at Mirajane, knowing that the Satan Soul mage was better left to calm down by herself, though she couldn't help but worry. Noticing that his mate was feeling distressed, Natsu held Lisanna's hand in his own and squeezed lightly. Lisanna looked at Natsu, making a small smile and kissing the Fire Dragon Slayer on the lips, the pink-haired man kissing back.

"Jeez, get a room you two." Bickslow said from across the guild.

* * *

Levy sat at Lucy's desk, reading the papers of the blonde's new novel that she hadn't read yet. The blue-haired woman's brow furrowed as she read the new pages. Or lack thereof. "I honestly thought there would be a lot more to read after all of these days. And while this new material is good, it's not as good as the rest that you have wrote prior." Levy commented as she put the paper back down on the desk, turning her head to see Lucy, who sat down on top of her bed.

"Sorry. I've been having a lot of writer's block as of late, the very little that I can actually think of isn't that good." Lucy apologised. Levy got off the chair she was sitting on and cupped Lucy's hands in her own, sitting down next to Lucy on the blonde's bed.

"It's okay, Lu. All of the good writers get writer's block from time to time." Levy reassured Lucy. "Even the writer of the _Great Magus Labyrinth_ series suffered from days where he was barely inspired to write even a single sentence for his stories."

Lucy felt relieved by Levy's words, the blonde grateful to have a best friend like the Solid Script mage. The two females hugged, Levy's head pressing against Lucy's neck. "So are what are your exact thoughts on what I wrote?" Lucy asked as she and Levy ceased their hug.

"While I didn't mind what happened, I found that it mostly comprised of the characters just talking." Levy said. "Though I am looking forward to see what way our heroes are planning to stop Claudius and his fellow cultists from summoning and awakening the Grand Demon Beelzebub."

"I have a few things planned for the future of the series." Lucy said, looking away from the Solid Script mage with a blush of embarrassment on her face. "But I haven't gotten to the points where I can put them in, so right now I'm just holding onto them in my head."

The two females were left in a pregnant silence until Levy spoke up. "Well, if we no longer have anything about your novel to talk about, I would like to hear more about this new relationship you have with Gajeel." Levy said, looking at Lucy with eyes of interest.

"Um... Levy, I don't want to go into the details."

"I'm not talking about the sex, especially when I have already had the first-hand experience with Gajeel." Levy said, the petite Solid Script mage laying down on her front, looking at Lucy with the same keen interest in her brown eyes, strong and unwavering. Lucy leaned back from on top of her bed, the top of her back against the wall and near the window. "I'm talking about how he is now treating you. Has he now became more protective of you? Is he treating you sweetly? He was treating me like a queen when we were together, and if he doesn't treat you the same then I'll teach him a thing or two, as both his ex and as your best friend. Does he kiss you in the morning? Does he hold you in his arms when he sleeps? Does he read your books with you because he enjoys spending time with you? Is he-"

"We're still just friends." Lucy interrupted. "Of course there is the sex, but not much else is different."

Levy peered at Lucy, the blue-haired age knowing there was more to them than the blonde let on. "Are you sure, Lu?" Levy asked, shuffling closer to Lucy. The Celestial Spirit mage tried to shuffle away from her petite friend, but that only caused Levy to shuffle even closer until her body was nearly pressing against Lucy's. "Come on, Lu, you know you can't hide a secret from me."

"Gajeel said he wanted to form a team with me." Lucy admitted, looking away from Levy. The aforementioned Solid Script mage's eyes lit up, a mostly repressed squeal escaping from behind her closed lips. Lucy sighed at her friend's reaction, getting off her bed and walking to her kitchen. Lucy reached into a kitchen cabinet, pulling out a bar of chocolate, the blonde proceeding to eat it after removing the wrapper. After removing her slight peckish feeling, Lucy went back to her bedroom to find that Levy was still bustling in excitement. Levy stopped as she spotted Lucy, sprinting at the blonde and holding the summoner's hands in her own.

"I think you and Gajeel would be an amazing team, Lu. You're both strong and skilled, and you can help Lily with keeping from going overboard." Levy said. Levy's eyes widened as a thought occurred her. "Oh yeah, and as both your friend and Gajeel's ex, I give you full permission to date Gajeel."

Lucy suddenly pulled her hands out of Levy's own, stepping backwards and looking away from her closest friend. "I'm not going to date Gajeel, I have my love life put on hold and I don't know if Gajeel wants to continue his love life. We don't even really know if I'm his type." Lucy said, moving her fingers over her keys, the golden items having a calming effect on her as Levy's other suggestion made her heart hurt. The thought of forming another team, not with just Gajeel but anyone else in the guild, just felt so obscene to Lucy. "And I'm not becoming a part of a team with Gajeel. I'm already a part of Team Natsu, I can't really commit myself to another team in the guild without resigning as a member of Team Natsu."

Levy's happy features changed, the Solid Script mage looking more concerned for Lucy suddenly. Levy squeezed one of her hands into a fist, uncertain if she should tell Lucy what everyone in the guild with the exception of Team Natsu basically knows about the aforementioned team. "Lu..." Levy said, her words dying in her throat. Levy knew that if she told Lucy the truth then the blonde would definitely not take it well, her reaction could range from bursting down into tears to becoming angry and refusing to believe what Levy tells her, and the petite mage didn't have the heart for it.

However Lucy heard her friend, inferring that Levy was now trying to hide what she going to tell her. "Lev, is there something that you want to tell me?" Lucy asked with uncertainty. Levy bit her bottom lip, now knowing that she was left with little other options than to tell Lucy the inconvenient truth of her team.

"I just... Oh, how do I say this?" Levy responded as she rubbed the back of her head, nervously shifting her eyes away from Lucy. "It's just that... it doesn't seem like Team Natsu is still a team anymore. Ever since they became official, Natsu, Gray and Erza have been on more missions with their lovers than they have as an entire team. You've even been on more missions with Evergreen, Cana and your older brothers respectively in this month than you have with your team. I'm not saying that you should quit Team Natsu and begin one with Gajeel... but I think that maybe you should at least consider it."

Lucy was silent, her head hanging down from where it was fixed on her shoulders. Levy couldn't see Lucy's eyes, shadowed by her own blonde hair, but the Solid Script mage could still see the glum frown that her Celestial Spirit mage friend's mouth turned into.

"Lucy...?" Levy said, moving an arm towards her friend. Lucy suddenly lunged her body towards Levy, the blue-haired mage flinching into a defensive position. Levy's heart was racing, fearing that her suggestion had caused her friend to attack her in anger. However, Levy didn't feel even so much as a punch, she didn't feel even the slightest pain. Instead of attacking Levy, Lucy had wrapped her arms around her best friend. And Lucy was crying.

"You're right." Lucy said to Levy in a cracked voice. Levy was left nonplussed, though her body instinctively knew to start hugging Lucy back and rubbing her back as she sobbed into Levy's shoulder. Levy felt a powerful guilt strike her body as Lucy cried, feeling that it was her fault for bringing the matter up, her heart cracking into pieces with each cry. Eventually, after an uncertain amount of time, Lucy stopped crying and let go of Levy, sitting down on her bed as she wiped the remaining droplets of tears off her reddened eyes. "It just seems like we're becoming less and less of a team. They're still my friends, we still hang out a lot. But our team... we've stated to go on less missions together. It even feels like a distant memory, going on missions with the rest of Team Natsu."

Levy sat next to Lucy, rubbing her arm in an attempt to help soothe the blonde.

"Maybe... I will consider forming a team with Gajeel." Lucy said after an unknown passage of time. "But I'm not certain yet. I think I still need some more time before I decide if I want to remain in Team Natsu or not."

Levy made a quiet hum. Even if she didn't hold any ill will towards the rest of Team Natsu, Levy didn't want Lucy to be on a team that barely continued to exist. However it was purely Lucy's choice, not her own. The Solid Script mage knew that she should let Lucy decide for herself, and that she should accept Lucy's decision. Levy just hoped that Lucy wouldn't regret her choice. The aforementioned blonde still looked like she wasn't in the happiest of moods, even though she ceased to cry she still looked somewhat sad. Levy frowned, trying to think of a way to help her friend feel better (especially since Lucy's sadness was mostly her fault). A lightbulb turned on in Levy's brain; Lucy always felt better after drinking a strawberry milkshake whenever she ended up feeling down.

Levy went to Lucy's kitchen, trying to find the necessary ingredients. Levy made an annoyed grumble as she found out that while Lucy does have half of the ingredients, she is lacking in the other half. However Levy didn't let that leave her in despondence; Mirajane was most likely still at the guild and would be more than happy to give Lucy a strawberry milkshake. And Mirajane was amazing when it came to making milkshakes that made Lucy feel better. And Mirajane had a seemingly endless supply of strawberry milkshakes (despite the thousands of Jewels lost to property damage caused by jobs _per week_.)

Levy headed back to Lucy's bedroom, finding the blonde petting Plue, her expression changed to that of a smile. Albeit an almost sad looking smile. "Hey, Lu, how's about we go to the guild for some milkshakes?" Levy said, holding the hand that Lucy was using to stroke Plue's head in her own.

"That sounds like a nice idea, Levy." Lucy said, the two female mages left Lucy's house and began walking to the guild with Plue following after them.

"By the way, how do your Celestial Spirits feel about you and Gajeel having sex?" Levy asked as she and Lucy walked through the streets of Magnolia.

"To summarise, I can't summon Loke until he has finally calmed down because of the sex Gajeel and I are having." Lucy explained.

* * *

Plue had returned back to the Celestial Spirit World when Lucy and Levy had returned to Fairy Tail, the blonde walking to the bar while the blue-haired walked back to the table where Darian sat. "Hey, Mira. Could I please have a strawberry milkshake?" Lucy asked innocently. The Satan Soul mage didn't comply, in fact her lack of a reaction at all had seemingly made it seem like she didn't hear the Celestial Spirit mage at all. Lucy looked at Mirajane, noticing that she didn't look like her usual happy self. Lucy looked at Mirajane in concern, the blonde about to ask her what was wrong.

Lucy suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, surprising the blonde and giving her a mini heart attack. Lucy had her hand on her chest as she tried to decrease the speed and power of her heartbeats, so great that she could hear the beating in her ears. Lucy looked behind herself towards the person behind the hand. "Mira has been left in a bit of a bad mood for a while. She still hands out general alcoholic drinks, but she's not exactly in the mood for her usual specifics." Lisanna explained, originally looking at her friend with a face of minor sympathy, although she quickly changed her expression, smiling at the blonde. "But don't worry, I learned everything I know about cooking from Mira, that includes making milkshakes. I should be able to make you a strawberry milkshake that is just as good as Mira's."

Lucy smiled at Lisanna as the Strauss sibling went into the kitchen behind the bar, however she couldn't help but look at Mirajane in concern. The Take Over mage was wiping the bar, something that wasn't particularly out of the usual since she was the guild's official barmaid. However instead of her usual gentle smile and rhythmic humming, Mirajane was silent and looked at the cloth she was using to clean the bar counter. Lucy couldn't really just look at Mira while she was like that and not help her. Lucy raised a hand, about to try to gain Mirajane's attention.

"Don't." Cana said, the brunette sitting next to Lucy and drinking the contents of a bottle full of liquor. Cana drank the bottle dry in one go, adding it to a pile of empty bottles next to her, more than likely a collection of sorts of bottles that she drank dry that day. "Usually when Mirajane is left in a bad mood, she just calms down by herself. Most attempts to help her while she's like this don't work."

Lucy looked at Cana and then back at Mirajane. Lucy bit her bottom lip, wanting to help her friend but at the same time trusting Cana's judgement. With a barely audible at all sigh, Lucy lowered her hand back onto the bar counter.

Cana then smirked at Lucy, wrapping and arm around the blonde's side. "Damn, didn't expect you and Gajeel to start becoming friends with benefits. Then again the unpredictable nature of our guildmates is one of the most fun things about this guild. Of course though, nothing beats the liquor." Cana said, continuing to smirk at Lucy as she grabbed another bottle of an indistinguishable alcoholic drink and drinking from the bottle. "Although I guess it was kinda obvious that Gajeel had the hots for you even before he started dating Levy, after all he wanted you to dance in that sexy bunny costume. Though if I could I would make you dance in that costume myself. Just gotta admire the view of those big melons have you have on your chest."

Lucy looked away from Cana, her cheeks turning red from the blush forming on her face. "Why do you always have to be so perverted when you're drunk? Oh well, at least you're not presuming that Gajeel and I are in love." Lucy said to the brunette, annoyed, even she wasn't looking at her. "And can you please get your hand off my boob."

With an unwilling sigh, Cana let go of Lucy's breast and went back to what she was doing earlier; trying to break her record of how many barrels of wine she could drink in an hour before passing out. "Here's your milkshake, Lucy~." Lisanna said with a cheerful tone as she put the strawberry milkshake down in front of the busty blonde.

"Thank you, Lis." Lucy thanked her friend before drinking the strawberry-flavoured drink. Mirajane's head shot up as she finally heard Lucy. The S-Class mage/barmaid looked at Lucy with eyes that first showed an uncertain emotion before they shined with happiness. A shine of happiness that also held a glint of mischief to it.

"Say, Lucy, doesn't Gajeel look handsome today?" Mirajane asked the aforementioned blonde, giving Lucy a seemingly innocent smile. Cana and Lisanna could see that it was another attempt by Mirajane to get Gajeel and Lucy together, albeit this time she's trying to the same trick with Lucy instead. Lucy turned her head around and looked around the guild until she could finally spot Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer sitting in a dark corner, an unsurprising sight. Gajeel was asleep, his arms folded behind his head as they supported it while he slept, his mouth moving in a way that indicated that he was snoring, albeit quietly. As Gajeel's arms and head leaned back against the wall behind him, his feet were on the table in front of him. Next to Gajeel's boot-covered feet was a plate that was empty with the exception of what looked like gravy, and even then it looked like there was barely much of it left anyways. Gajeel's clothes didn't change from earlier that day, his usual attire of course.

Lucy focussed her eyes on Gajeel's face, while there were features that Lucy could consider handsome, such as his prominent cheekbones, but nothing that would win Gajeel an award for most handsome man of the year. The blonde moved her eyes to Gajeel's arms, admiring the Dragon Slayer's large biceps; how they flexed and bulged slightly with every breath he took. Lucy looked back at Mirajane, the blonde quickly piecing together that it was just another attempt made by the S-Class mage to get Lucy with someone; this time the 'someone' in question being Gajeel.

"Eh, I guess Gajeel is kind of handsome." Lucy replied, unamused, looking at Mirajane with half-lidded eyes. Mirajane let out a little embarrassed chuckle as she had a feeling that Lucy was catching onto her scheme. Lucy let out a sigh, reaching out and holding one of Mirajane's hands. "Mira, I've already told you that my love life is put on hiatus for a while. After a few weeks or months, you can _then_ start meddling with my love life again."

Mirajane apologized to Lucy, albeit she was clearly downcast. "Lucy, it's so good to see you again." A happy, high-pitched voice said as something small tackled Lucy into a hug, nearly knocking the blonde off her barstool. Lucy looked at the little thing that was hugging her midsection, smiling as she saw that it was none other than Wendy. Lucy hugged Wendy back, the blonde looking at the Sky Dragon Slayer, even though she was starting to change into her teens she hadn't physically changed that much. It is generally assumed that Wendy will end up as a petite woman when she reaches her adulthood, like Levy, though Lucy still believed that Wendy has a few more years to grow. After all she is still entering her teens, per se.

"It's so good to see you too, Wendy. By the way, how is Sherria?" Lucy responded as she and her guildmate stopped hugging.

"Sherria is doing much better now, she's now shown to cast some of her old Sky God Slayer Magic spells, but they are weaker than before and they exhaust her greatly." Wendy replied, at first happy about her friend's recovery, but looking a little sad about the amount of progress that Sherria still has ahead her, tough the still young (at least somewhat young) Dragon Slayer looked happy again. "Lyon has said that Sherria is actually recovering faster than expected, though Sherria being able to use magic again in general is a surprise, and even told Sherria that he is proud of her. I don't think it's hard to think about how happy Sherria was after hearing that."

Lucy giggled and Wendy giggled back, the two Fairy Tail mages giggling with each other.

"Hey, Lucy, look at this mission." Natsu said excitedly, the Fire Dragon Slayer appearing in front of Lucy, holding a sheet of paper that was a mission request. The request had an illustration of silhouettes of monsters on it, the words 'HELP US!' written at the top, the bold words of a 1,000,000 Jewel reward underneath the monster illustration with the details of the request (such as the location and details about the monsters) written in small, yet readable, words. Natsu was visibly shaking with excitement, the Dragon Slayer always loving a mission that was about fighting, especially the higher paying ones since they usually meant the stronger that the monsters or dark mages or whatever are.

"That looks like a great mission, Natsu." Lucy replied sweetly, giving her close friend a kind smile. "That mission seems right up your alley. Though you're supposed to give these to Mirajane for them to be permitted."

The Fire Dragon Slayer snorted in amusement at the blonde's words. "I know that, duh." Natsu said, rolling his eyes with a teeth-showing smile on his face. Lucy also rolled her eyes, though she did it in annoyance. Natsu was once again looking at Lucy with that wide grin and happy eyes. "I'm showing you this mission because we are all going on it together, as a team."

Lucy then noticed that Erza and Gray were behind Natsu, also looking like they were very eager for this mission. Lucy's eyes widened, an exciting warmth growing in the Celestial Spirit summoner's chest; was she and the rest of Team Natsu going on a mission together again? Lucy jumped off her barstool and landed on her feet, immediately bringing her pink-haired best friend into a tight embrace. Gajeel found one of his eyes opening from an unknown force inside of him, darting onto the sight of Lucy holding Natsu in a hug that caused Salamander's face to be near her big breasts. Gajeel felt a growl growing inside of him; even though he knew that Salamander was already mated to Furry Chick and that the annoying Dragon Slayer barely showed any signs of acknowledging that one of the sexiest women alive was shoving his face into the space between her big as all hell breasts.

But it didn't change that immense feelings of jealousy were inside Gajeel because of the sight. As far as a part of him was concerned, something or someone - especially one that was greatly unwelcomed - was touching what was his; his golden treasure that was located at the top. Every possessive instinct in Gajeel tempted him to beat Salamander like the pink-haired fucker did to him yesterday, his muscles shaking as he tried to stop himself from acting out on the instinct.

Eventually, Bunny Girl let go of Salamander, the two mages proceeding to act like it never happened. Not even Titania, Stripcicle or even Furry Chick reacted to it. The Iron Dragon Slayer felt that possessive side of himself calm down and disappear nevertheless. Gajeel kept an eye open to focus on Bunny Girl and Team Natsu, the Dragon Slayer also focussing his hearing on them to listen in on what they are saying.

"We will be taking this mission, Mirajane." Erza said to the Satan Soul mage, the white-haired female writing their names down on the record book of missions taken by Fairy Tail mages.

"Is it okay if I don't go on this mission?" Wendy asked, causing Natsu, Erza and Gray to look at her with surprised faces. "Sorry, but I just came back to the guild. Is it okay if I go on a mission later?"

"Sure, Wendy." Natsu replied, his same wide grin on his face. Most of Natsu's guildmates liked the smile, it seemed to be encouraging, funny or cute; Gajeel just found it to make his already stupid-looking face to look even more stupid.

"Hey, where's Happy?" Lucy asked as she noticed that the Exceed was nowhere to be seen. Lucy wasn't all too concerned, while Happy was cute and a good friend he still had a massive habit of gratuitously making fun of her, but it was definitely noticeable that Happy wasn't present at the guild, despite Natsu, Lisanna and Carla (AKA Happy's three favourite people in the world) being there right now.

"He went fishing." Gray answered, giving Juvia a quick kiss the lips, to the water elemental's enjoyment.

Lucy supposed that that answer made enough sense, since Happy was raised by _Natsu_ of all possible parents, nevertheless Natsu when he was still a kid and at his most crazy and destructive. Lucy noticed a concerned face in her peripherals, the blonde looking to see the owner of the face being Levy. Lucy sighed quietly before looking back at Levy, the two mages silently communicating with their eyes. Well seemingly at least. Lucy had seemed to have told Levy that she will see if she still wants to be a part of Team Natsu after the mission. If it still feels like they are a team after this, she will stay as a member of Team Natsu. But if it doesn't feel the same way that it did when they first started becoming a team, then Lucy will consider Gajeel's offer.

"We will meet at the train station in an hour, I have a lot to pack." Erza said as she began exiting the guild to go back to her room (or rooms) at Fairy Hills to pack her suitcases of foods and herbs and other ingredients. Natsu looked like all life was sucked out of him as he realised that he would have to take a train ride, the Dragon Slayer's dread worsened by the fact that _he_ was the one that picked the mission, meaning that Natsu has only himself to blame for the inevitable agony that is his motion sickness. Lucy let out a little laugh as she gave Natsu and little pat on the back. Gray, on the other hand, snickered at Natsu, which caused the Fire Dragon Slayer to punch him, which caused Juvia to angrily hit Natsu with an immense torrent of water. Long story short, another guild brawl had erupted.

* * *

With a loud yell, Erza cut a giant, lizard-like monster standing on its hind legs clean in half with her sword, the creature making one final yell of pain before dying. Many more giant creatures standing on their hind legs, varying from looking like boars to looking like wolves and to many other creatures. Erza changed in her Heaven's Wheel Armour, flying into the air and away from the beam attacks blasted towards her from the monsters' mouths. The red-haired mage made ten swords appear and circle around her body before making them shoot out and aim at the monsters, hitting them at their vital spots and killing them, the ground beneath making a slight as their massive bodies all hit the ground at once.

Team Natsu had taken a job for a mass infestation of monsters, though luckily the monsters weren't too strong so it wasn't necessarily an S-Class mission. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu roared as he shot out a beam of fire of immense heat and power at multiple ape-like monsters, sort of like stronger versions of Vulcans. The ape-like monsters made howls of pain as they were burnt to a crisp, all that remained of their immolated falling to the ground. Natsu smirked at his work. "Ha, that's three monsters in one hit! Beat that Gray!"

Gray, who was killing other monsters with spears made of ice that he created and sent towards them, looked back at Natsu and smirked in return. "Ice Devil's Rage!" Gray yelled as he shot a light purple beam at four giant serpents, the reptile-like creatures being frozen to death by the purple beam shot from the Devil Slayer's mouth. Gray smirked back at Natsu, who looked incredulous at what his rival/best friend was able to do. "Done better than you have, Lava Snot."

"Can you two _please_ stop being competitive until _after_ we have defeated and killed the giant monsters that have been terrorizing an entire town." Lucy said to the two Slayer mages in annoyance, the Celestial Spirit mage having used her magic to change into her Cancer Star Dress. Lucy had also summoned Aries, the Ram constellation spirit using her Wool Magic to hit the monsters with her fluffy, pink wool, the monsters becoming overwhelmed by an immense sensation of relaxation from the wool, making it easier for Lucy to slice them with her swords. Lucy had also summoned Capricorn; while Loke was the strongest of her spirits, Capricorn was still the only one that surpassed the Zodiac leader in close combat and had powerful physical capabilities that allowed him to deal devastating blows to the monsters. And with Loke being impossible to summon until he calms down from the fact that Lucy had sex with Gajeel.

And with his stubbornness and the fact that one day in the Celestial Spirit World is roughly three months, Lucy had a feeling that she may have to wait a few years before she could summon the orange-haired spirit again. Lucy huffed, quickly and swiftly cutting off the forearm of a bear-like monster as it tried to slam its paw down on her, before slicing off its head. Lucy wasn't really much of a fan of having to kill monsters on their missions to stop them, but they had destroyed the crops and killed and eaten residents of the village that they were terrorizing, so Lucy didn't really feel all too guilty about the killing she was committing.

"Lady Lucy, your form and grace have vastly improved since when you first started using your current Star Dress." Capricorn said as he knocked a hulking, wolf-like monster onto its back with a singular yet incredibly powerful kick, the goat-like humanoid observing Lucy's progress throughout the training that she started ever since before the Grand Magic Games. "However, there is still potential for you to reach."

Lucy had mentally noted Capricorn's words, remembering to train more on her Cancer Star Dress (and maybe all of her Star Dresses in general) at a later day. However the blonde was currently too focussed on something that was currently niggling at her mind (well, that and the monsters she was fighting). It just suddenly felt so... strange, fighting with her team. Lucy felt so nostalgic that it was her, Natsu, Gray and Erza again, but at the same time something just felt... wrong about this. For some reason Gajeel and Panther Lily were on Lucy's mind, flashes of the battle at Wendigo Skull appeared in the Celestial Spirit mage's head. It was ludicrous, Lucy took only _one_ job with the two and yet she was already thinking of them as a team more than she did with her official team.

Then again, the others went on missions with their significant others so often that they were basically teams; Natsu and Lisanna, Gray and Juvia, Erza and Jellal. And yet throughout it all Lucy didn't have a specific partner to go on missions with when Team Natsu wasn't being a team, it actually made Lucy feel like the odd one out. And... Lucy felt a strange feeling of guilt, like she was stealing her friends from their lovers by having them go on missions with her.

It was the harsh reality that Team Natsu was barely even a team anymore.

"Lucy, look out!" Aries yelled worriedly, the pink-haired spirit tackling her busty master suddenly. Lucy was at first taken by surprise by the spirit would tackle her, but her question was soon answered as a cylinder beam of fire energy soon shot at the area where Lucy was. Lucy looked at the monster that fired the beam, a reptilian creature that looked similar to a wyvern (though who knows, maybe it is a wyvern that Lucy just hasn't seen or heard of before). Natsu appeared near the wyvern-like creature, punching it with a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist that sent it flying into the air. The wyvern unwrapped its wings, flapping them to fly high in the air. The wyvern began to build up another beam of fire energy, clearly setting its sight on Natsu. Lucy almost smirked at the wyvern, already knowing that its attack would be meaningless against Natsu. However before the wyvern could use its attack a giant arrow made of purple ice hit it in the chest at high speeds and immense force, a spikey array of ice appearing from the wyvern; the many spikes piercing and cutting at its body from inside.

The ice disappeared, the wyvern falling to the ground, making a loud and powerful thud as it hit the ground, dead. "What the hell, Gray?!" Natsu yelled angrily at Gray, the ice mage shirtless. "I totally had that battle! It was using fire and it was like a dragon, I'm a Dragon Slayer; I totally had it in the bag!"

"You were taking too long, Flame Turd." Gray responded nonchalantly, a hint of annoyance in his voice, his hands tucked in his pockets, deactivating his Devil Slayer Magic to avoid the insanity-inducing side effects it has on him.

"What did you call me?!" Natsu growled at Gray, butting his forehead against the Ice-Make mage's own, pushing against him.

"I called you what you are." Gray growled back, pushing his forehead back against Natsu's.

Lucy giggled at her two best friends, though she still had that feeling of no longer feeling comfortable in her team. "Um, Aries, could you please get off of me?" Lucy asked as the lamb spirit was still on top of her.

"Oh, sorry." Aries responded as she got off Lucy, the Celestial Spirit's body glowing as she disappeared back to her home dimension. Capricorn appeared next to Lucy, the goat constellation spirit offering Lucy a hand to help her get back up. The blonde happily took Capricorn's hand was pulled back onto her feet. Lucy held out Capricorn's key, about to send him back to the Celestial Spirit World, however was stopped as he placed his hand over the key, stopping Lucy from completing the action. Lucy gave Capricorn a confused look before looking around to find what was wrong, however nothing seemed to be wrong as all of the monsters laid around them dead.

Lucy then noticed that Capricorn was giving a serious look towards a dark cave that wasn't too far from the forest area that the mages were located. Erza was also giving the same cave the same serious look. Lucy felt a cold chill run up and through her body; it seems that Capricorn and Erza have sensed a force that neither Lucy, Natsu nor Gray have sensed.

"You sense it too, don't you Capricorn?" Erza said as she looked back at the goat-like Celestial Spirit, her Heaven's Wheel Armour glowing before being replaced by her regular Heart Kreuz Armour.

Capricorn nodded in response. "Indeed I do, Lady Erza." Capricorn concurred. Before any questions could be raised towards Capricorn or Erza, a shrill screaming sound came from the cave, like a wail from creature that wasn't from this world. An adult-sized sphere of darkness, one that had a shape that was comparable to a blob, flew out of the cave at high speeds, spinning around as four dark magic circles surrounded it, shooting out powerful beams of darkness.

Erza summoned a sword dodging the blasts and using the sword to block the beams. "Ice-Make: Shield!" Gray yelled, creating a large shield that protected him and Natsu. Gray had at first held little worry over the beams, since he and Natsu were protected by the ice shield and Erza showed no signs of difficulty with dodging and deflecting the beams of darkness, however his eyes widened as he realised that a certain blonde wasn't safe behind the ice shield. The Ice-Make mage and the Dragon Slayer darted their eyes around the area on the other side of the shield, searching frantically for their blonde best friend. The two mages found Lucy on the ground, laying down to avoid the beams of darkness sent towards her. Capricorn was also laying down on the ground, holding one of his arms over Lucy.

Maybe Capricorn was the reason why Lucy was on the ground.

The sphere of darkness stopped spinning, the magic circles around it disappearing. Gray dispelled his ice shield, Natsu immediately lit his fists on fire and jumped towards the sphere of darkness.

"It won't work." Erza said. Natsu was of course already flying towards the sphere and would have probably ignored Erza anyways, the Fire Dragon Slayer trying to punch the ball of darkness, only for his body to completely pass through it. Natsu had a dumbfounded expression on his face as he came out of the other end of the sphere, landing flat on his face. "Attacks like that won't work against it, it is a Spera Tenebris."

"Spera Tenebris?" Lucy repeated in question as she got off the ground.

Erza nodded, not turning around to look at Lucy, keeping her eyes on the sphere creature as it continued to float and create ungodly screeching sounds that sounded like they didn't even belong in this dimension. "Yes, it is a Spera Tenebris; a mysterious, rare and extremely deadly monster. It is a giant orb of pure darkness that captures and eats its prey by engulfing them in its darkness and absorbing them. As a being of pure darkness, it can only be hurt by light; all other attempts at hurting it won't work as they will only pass through it. Observe."

Erza summoned a giant, red magic circle above the Spera Tenebris, the creature not reacting to the magic seals existence. Multiple swords appeared in the magic circle, floating over the Spera Tenebris. And yet it didn't show any signs of knowing the magic circles existence. The swords then shot down, passing right through the living ball of darkness as they made contact.

"Whoa, scary..." Lucy muttered as she watched many of Erza's swords, each having different sizes and even some magical capabilities, be utterly useless against the intangible monster.

"Indubitably. Even some of the strongest mages on the planet either have to run away or lose their lives to the Spera Tenebris if they don't possess any light-based magics." Erza concurred, her Heart Kreuz Armour glowing as it changed into a different armour. Erza's chest area was covered by a golden breastplate, her stomach area (including her navel) was exposed though she was still wearing a skirt made of golden silk. Her arm and hands were covered by golden gauntlets and her feet and legs were guarded by golden boots of armour. Two large Angel wings made of light were sprouting from the back of Erza's breastplate, fluttering slightly as the wind blew past it as a weak gust, feathers made of light coming off of the wings before fading out of existence. Erza summoned two swords into her hands, the blades looking normal though the hilts were also a golden colour with the edges around the blade having a shape comparable to Angel wings. Lucy was mesmerized by the armour, the Celestial Spirit mage having never seen it before. Erza turned her head to look back at Lucy, keeping her serious expression. "This is my Angel Warrior Armour, a special armour that I have recently got that uses Light Magic. I advise that you summon Loke, his Regulus magic is also based around light, so he is also capable of hurting the Spera Tenebris."

"Uh, there's a little problem with that." Lucy responded sheepishly, causing Erza to raise an eyebrow at her. "I cannot summon Loke right now."

"And why is that?" Erza asked.

"Sir Leo has been left in a foul mood from Lady Lucy and Sir Gajeel's... intimate nights with each other, and even went on a rampage throughout the Celestial Spirit World because of his ire." Capricorn explained. "The Celestial Spirit King has used his powers to make it impossible for Sir Leo to leave the Celestial Spirit World through either his own power or another beings power until he has finally calmed down from Lady Lucy's new relationship with Sir Gajeel."

Erza blushed at the reminder of Gajeel and Lucy's current relationship, however it was quickly replaced with anger towards Loke that surpassed the anger she felt towards Natsu and Gray, considering the long life that Loke has lived she expected him to be mature than to cause a rampage in his own world where he is basically second only to the Celestial Spirit King. And with his history as a playboy (even one who had never gone all the way), Loke should be more understanding about Lucy being in a friends with benefits relationship.

"I swear, if I see him again I'll give him a thing or two for disrespecting Lucy's decision." Erza grumbled angrily, pinching the bridge of her nose. The Spera Tenebris made a distorted shriek, spinning around, slashes of pure darkness coming out of its body made of darkness. Erza Requipped a golden shield in front of herself, a glowing, golden magic circle appearing in front of the shield and protecting Erza, Lucy and Capricorn. Natsu and Gray dodged the slashes of darkness, the Dragon Slayer shooting a Fire Dragon's Roar at the Spera Tenebris while the ice mage shot an Ice-Make: Lance at it, the two magical attacks phasing through the magical monster, the Spera Tenebris making a distort laugh at the two mages' spells. The Spera Tenebris stopped its attack of darkness slashes, Erza looked back at Lucy as she made the golden shield disappear. "Do you think you can still use your Leo Star Dress?"

"I don't know. But it's worth a try." Lucy responded as she pulled out Loke's key and put it to her dress. "Star Dress: Leo."

Lucy changed into her Leo Star Dress, the blonde making a happy smirk that she was still able to do it successfully despite Loke's current prohibition from leaving the Celestial Spirit World. "I'm afraid that I cannot help you from here on, keeping me summoned will only drain you of your magical energy." Capricorn said to Lucy, bowing down as he began returning back to the Celestial Spirit World.

The Spera Tenebris rushed towards Erza and Lucy, making a screaming sound as it headed towards the two female mages. Erza jumped high into the air, her Angel wings of light keeping her high in the air as they flapped and flew. Lucy rolled out of the way of the living sphere of darkness, looking back at it to see it now looking up at Erza (at least that is what Lucy assumed, it was hard to tell when it had no visible eyes... or head). The Spera Tenebris flew upwards towards Erza, the fierce and powerful Titania flying down towards it, her swords held behind herself as Light Magic began to build in the blades.

With a yell, Erza passed through the Spera Tenebris and slashed at it with her swords. The living being of darkness made a scream of pain as the blades cut through its body and turned it into multiple flying pieces of darkness. The pieces of darkness flew around each other before reconnecting, forming the Spera Tenebris once more. Erza landed near Lucy, the S-Class mage looking back at Natsu and Gray as they approached from behind.

"Natsu, Gray, I advise that you two stay out of this battle and leave this area until Lucy and I have dealt with the Spera Tenebris. You're magic is useless against it and I don't want either of you two getting hurt or killed because of it." Erza ordered. Natsu and Gray groaned in annoyance and were going to protest but were stopped when Erza glared at them, causing them to freeze still like statues. "That is an order! Oppose and you will be punished if the Spera Tenebris doesn't kill you!"

"As you say, Ma'am." Natsu and Gray responded fearfully with a salute before turning around and running away. Erza and Lucy looked back up at the Spera Tenebris, the living orb of darkness flying towards them, a distorted wail of murderous intent emitting from the monster.

"Regulus Lucy Kick!" Lucy yelled, light surrounding her feet. Lucy kicked the Spera Tenebris as it neared her and Erza, her foot not phasing through the creature. The Spera Tenebris' body moved forward a bit before flying back by a few small feet, another scream of pain escaping from it. Lucy felt a triumphant smirk prematurely grow on her face.

" ** _I wiLl nOt Lose tO YOu HumAns!_** " The Spera Tenebris hissed at Lucy and Erza, the two mages taken by surprise by the fact that it could talk, its voice raspy and sounding distorted. " ** _I WilL eat YoU huMAns, and I WIll eaT your tWo fRiendS OnCE I am dOne!_** "

"The Spera Tenebris can talk?!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise.

"On the many books that I have read and studied about this monster, of all the fables and stories that I have heard concerning this monster, I have never found out about information like this." Erza admitted, equally as surprised as Lucy.

" ** _YoU Are mY PReY! I wilL eAt YOu!_** " The Spera Tenebris shouted, making two appendages grow on the sides of its spherical body. Long, blade-like rectangles materialized on the appendages, wispy threads of darkness emitting from the blades. The Spera Tenebris then swung the blades towards the two female mages, sending powerful slashes of darkness towards them. Lucy and Erza had managed to avoid the attacks, which were greatly for the better as they cut clean through some giant rocks behind them. Erza made a loud yell as she ran towards the Spera Tenebris and swung her sword at it, cutting at the supposed front of its body.

A distorted screech of pain came from the Spera Tenebris, the living darkness entity still trying to slice the legendary Titania into pieces to not only kill her but to cut her into smaller pieces that are easier for it to eat, Erza however managed to counter the blades with her Angel Swords, the monster surprisingly able to match her in swordplay despite only being made of darkness. Lucy appeared behind the Spera Tenebris, engulfing one of her fist in light and punching the darkness monster from behind. The Spera Tenebris made a yell of pain, dropping its blades. Erza saw her opportunity and took it, slashing at the darkness monster's body. The Spera Tenebris was cut into multiple pieces, flying high into the air and forming back into the sphere-like body.

Erza looked at the reconstructing entity, closing her eyes and humming as she started thinking. Erza opened her eyes and looked at the blonde next to her. "Lucy, this is a creature of living darkness, even though our attacks are hurting and damaging it because of the light imbued in them, they are ultimately not destroying it." Erza said to Lucy, capturing the blonde's attention. Erza looked back at the sky, which caused Lucy to also look up at the sky, where the Spera Tenebris had finished turning back into its sphere form. "If we really want to kill or destroy this monster, we need to hit it with a powerful beam of light, but the only possible way that we can do it is if combined our Light Magic."

"Do you mean that we...?" Lucy asked as she looked at Erza, the S-Class mage slipping her hand into her own.

"Perform a Unison Raid." Erza said, smiling at Lucy. Lucy felt her spirits rise from Erza's smile, trusting in her friend. The two sorceresses thrusted their connected hands towards the Spera Tenebris, a golden magic circle appearing in front of their connected hands.

The Spera Tenebris growled angrily at Lucy and Erza, the two appendages receding back into its body as a black magic circle of pure darkness appeared in front of the creature's sphere body. " _ **DiE! DIe! Die! I'lL jUst FeaST oN what RemAiNs of YouR CorpSes and Then fEeD oN yoUr TWo friEndS!**_ " It screeched, only increasing Erza and Lucy's animus to destroy it. " ** _Dark Rhapsody!_** "

A giant beam of pure, destructive Dark Magic shot out of the Spera Tenebris' magic circle, aimed directly at Erza and Lucy. Rays of light came out of the magic circle in front of Lucy and Erza, a giant laser - one almost as big, if not slightly bigger, as the beam being shot towards them by the Spera Tenebris - came out of the golden magic circle. The two beam spells collided, darkness and light coming from the area where the two giant beams met. Lucy and Erza were pouring all of the Light Magic granted to them by their magical outfits into the spell to counter the surprisingly powerful monster. Then again Erza did note that it was an extremely deadly monster, though Lucy assumed that it was only because all magical and physical attacks that didn't include light were meaningless to it.

However the two Fairy Tail mages prevailed, their Unison Raid overpowering the Dark Rhapsody and hitting the Spera Tenebris, the aforementioned sentient sphere of pure darkness making a scream of fear and later pain as the powerful beam of light it, destroying it. A wave of exhaustion overcame both Erza and Lucy as they finished casting their Unison Raid, staggering as they held onto their knees with their hands. Lucy and Erza looked up at the sky and the area around them, happy that they successfully destroyed the Spera Tenebris for once and for all.

Natsu and Gray ran into the area. "What the hell happened?!" Natsu asked, looking around the area for the Spera Tenebris. Light glowed on Erza's armour and Lucy's Star Dress, changing back into the two females usual attire. "We saw some super huge beam of light and we thought somethin' happen and where did that Spiral Tentacles go?"

"Spera Tenebris." Erza corrected Natsu, at first looking annoyed by his incorrect naming of the deadly monster but then looking happy. "And we destroyed it. We have successfully killed all of the monsters. We've completed the request."

Team Natsu cheered, Natsu and Gray had even high fived. Lucy too had felt happy...

And yet still there was an uncomfortable feeling within Lucy, the Celestial Spirit mage still kept on thinking about Gajeel and Panther Lily and how she still wants to form a new team with them. Lucy looked up at her celebrating teammates, a strange feeling of nostalgia flowing within her while at the same time she felt a feeling that, unless if it is because of specifics in a request or they are all included in one big team for a mission or some Dark Guild attacks Fairy Tail, this will be the last time it would be them as a team celebrating finishing a request.

And, even stranger, there was some acceptance in that feeling.

* * *

Lucy sat at a table in her guild with the rest of Team Natsu. Lucy was observing her friends, noticing that while they were indeed happy to be with each other they would rather be with their significant others; Natsu kept on eyeing Lisanna as she served at the bar, Gray kept on glancing at Juvia a she happily spoke with Lisanna, and Erza couldn't keep her eyes off Jellal as he was talking with Wendy. Lucy made a silent sigh, knowing that her friends were basically forcing themselves to sit next to each other, that they would rather be with their lovers. Lucy looked at Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer was seemingly still sleeping where he was when Lucy left, though this time Panther Lily was sitting next to him, reading a little book. Of course Lucy wasn't in love with Gajeel, no siree, it was just a coincidence that the rest of her team wanted to be with their loved ones while Lucy wanted to be with Gajeel.

" _I'm not falling in love, at least not for a few months. A few weeks at the least._ " Lucy thought as she stood up and started walking towards Gajeel. The Dragon Slayer opened his eyes as he heard Lucy approach him, her irresistible scent being confirmation that it was her. It seemed that the whole guild had noticed and Lucy became the centre of its attention, an almost eerie silence filling the wooden building. Lucy could feel three pairs of eyes weigh on her back, obviously from her teammates. Lucy sucked in air and swallowed it down as she stopped in front of Gajeel and Panther Lily, the Dragon Slayer and Exceed looking at her expectantly. "Hey, Gajeel, remember that offer you gave me? To form a new team with you?"

"Yep." Gajeel answered curtly.

Lucy looked down at her hands, the two body parts fiddling with each other. " _Come on, Lucy, it's now or never!_ " Lucy thought as she looked up at Gajeel, a smile on her face. "Is that offer still open?"

Everyone at the guild was left nonplussed, even Lucy's teammates looked utterly frozen with shock. Though Mirajane wasn't left nonplussed, in fact she was squealing in joy and trying everything to stop it from escaping her mouth. And Levy was basically beaming at Lucy as her best friend made her resolve. And of course a wide smile grew on Gajeel and Panther Lily's faces.

"Welcome to the team, Bunny." Gajeel said earnestly as he took Lucy's hand in his own and shook it, still smiling at the blonde.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well, it's finally here, and boy it kinda took me a while but that's kind of because I'm also working on other stories (or at least I'm meant to be working on them).**

 **Anyways, here's a long chapter (though I have admittedly written longer chapters), so hopefully it's worth the wait. By the way, word of warning, the next chapter will also be a while because in a few days I'm going on a vacation... without my computer or any Wi-Fi, so I won't be able to do any progress on any of my stories during the few days that the vacation lasts.**

 **Though that doesn't mean I can't read your reviews after I come back, so if you're able to write a review then feel free, even if it's constructive criticism. Of course this is only if you want to, but these reviews do act as fuel that keeps me in the mood to continue writing this story.**

 **And with a blow kiss, I bid thee farewell.**


	7. Team Iron Star

Gajeel grinned at the blonde that he was shaking hands with, the woman smiling back. The two mages stopped shaking hands, Gajeel stood up, his hands on his hips and still smiling at Lucy. "Looks like Team Gajeel is now official." Gajeel said to Lucy, not taking any notice or care of his still nonplussed guildmates.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Gajeel, an amused smirk on her face as she let out a huff of air through her nose and mouth. "Team Gajeel? Nuh-uh, we're not naming our team that. We need something more inventive and original." Lucy responded, also not taking any real notice or care of her frozen guildmates.

"Well yer last team was named after the Dragon Slayer that started it, so why can't this team be named Team Gajeel?" The Iron Dragon Slayer asked, he didn't seem angered or annoyed, in fact he actually looked amused.

"Because my old team didn't have a name until our guildmates began to unofficially call it Team Natsu. Some time later Team Natsu became our official name." Lucy explained, not looking annoyed. Panther Lily used Aera to grow wings and fly off the table that he was sitting on, the grinning Exceed flying to the request board and taking one of the requests. Lucy smiled back at Gajeel. "We can call it something better and more original than Team Gajeel. Like Team Iron Star, or Team Metal Scales, or at least with more pizzazz than just the word team and then one of our names."

Gajeel made an amused chuckle. "Didn't take ya for one to care about a team name having pizzazz, Bunny Girl." Gajeel said, looking at his new blonde teammate. The Iron Dragon Slayer cocked his head slightly to the side, his hand sideways underneath his head as he looked at the empty air, thinking about Lucy's ideas. "Though a bit of pizzazz to a team name doesn't sound half bad. We'll be a stronger team than any of the others and with a better name too, that'll prove us as the true best team in Fairy Tail. Gihihihihihihi."

"We can decide the team name on our journey to our next mission." Panther Lily said, albeit he now had a calm and collected face once again. In the Exceed's paw was a piece of paper with the details of a job and illustrations related to what the client needs help with. Panther Lily handed the paper to Lucy, the blonde and the tall Dragon Slayer behind her skimming the paper. "It's a request that looks like it could be difficult, but it pays a very high price."

Lucy's eyes lit up greatly, even though she was already happy, the blonde grinning down at the paper as she gripped it without even being aware. "This looks like an awesome mission!" Lucy said, making her way to the bar, where a cheery Mirajane was happily waiting for her. Gajeel and Lily watched Lucy as Mirajane approved of the mission, a smile of platonic (at least with the latter) fondness on the two males' faces. Lucy happily hummed as she walked back to Gajeel and Panther Lily. "Okay, lets go on a mission."

The new team left the guild, everyone except for Levy and Mirajane remaining as frozen statues of shock. One by one, Gajeel and Lucy's guildmates managed to overcome their shock and become back in tune with reality, though the two wizards had already left Magnolia.

"So, are Gajeel and Lucy now a team?" Macao said as he finished processing the new information, though he was still having trouble fully comprehending what happened. Team Natsu had always came off as the strongest team, in not only power but also bond. Not only were some of the strongest mages in the guild a part of the team, but they had a seemingly unbreakable bond. Though after Gray finally started dating Juvia, and Erza was starting to spend more time with Jellal, it already seemed like the team was beginning to end. With how many times the team alone has saved not only the guild, but even the entire world, it was almost incomprehensible. Especially since the mage who did it was Lucy, the Light of Fairy Tail and the reason why Team Natsu started in the first place.

"That seems to be the case." Jet said, his double take being tremendously delayed. On missions Levy would say that she sometimes worried for Lucy, that she was staying loyal to her team when it was barely still a team with how little they went on missions anymore. The fast mage did notice that Team Natsu was progressively going on less and less missions together, and while the members still hanged out together and obviously cared greatly for each other, it did seem like they were spending less time together than they used to. Though, to be honest, they used to spend most of their time together.

"I never thought that would happen." Laki said.

"Team Natsu just seemed unbreakable." Nab said, standing next to the request board. Not that he would ever take a job. "I never thought Gajeel and Lucy would ever become a team, it just seemed so unlikely."

"I knew Gajeel and Lucy were taking their friendship to new levels by becoming fuck buddies, but I didn't know they were becoming teammates." Cana said, ignoring Carla as the Exceed glared at her for using the word 'fuck' in front of Wendy. The brunette picked up a bottle of liquor, unscrewing the cap and drinking half of the bottle's contents in one go. Cana looked at the cards in her hand as she finished drinking; cards that she used for offensive spells. "If Gajeel is a shitty teammate to my Lucy, or he hurts her on a mission, I'll fucking castrate him."

"Hey, guys..." Lisanna said.

"Well surely he isn't going to hurt Lucy, he's a lot different than back in his Phantom Lord days." Alzack said.

"Juvia can assure than Gajeel-kun is much different than his Phantom Lord days. He looks out for others on his missions now." Juvia said. "And Gajeel-kun wouldn't hurt a hair on Lucy-san's head anymore, they are guildmates and work to protect each other. And Gajeel-kun and Lucy-san went on a mission before and they looked out for each other, Gajeel-kun will protect the Light of Fairy Tail with his life."

"Um, guys...!" Lisanna said again.

"Gajeel better treat his teammate right or he is not a real man!" Elfman said, his large arms crossed over his extremely muscular chest.

"It's definitely something unexpected, even by our standards." Bisca said, her child sitting on her lap.

"I just wonder how Laxus and Freed are going to react when they find out that Gajeel and Lucy have now started a team together." Evergreen said to Bickslow, the two members of the Thunder Legion sitting on the same table as they are a team.

Bickslow looked at Evergreen, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, those two are so protective of Cosplayer that we'll be lucky if anything of Gajeel remains when they are done with him."

Evergreen nodded, taking a sip from her hot cup of tea. "Though if Lucy manages to get between them and Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer may actually have a chance to live. He could probably even come out of the inevitable ordeal unscathed." The Fairy mage said, rubbing the steam caused by her tea off her glasses. "They do care a lot for her, they would probably literally move heaven and earth for her. If anything could stop them from killing a guildmate, it's indubitably Lucy."

Bickslow nodded in agreement, the Seith mage looking at the closed guild doors that his fellow Fairy Tail mages walked through minutes ago, thinking about how lucky Gajeel was to not only become friends with benefits as well as a teammate with Lucy. Damn, what Bickslow would give for even just _one_ night of sex with the Light of Fairy Tail. It would be worth it.

"Guys...!" Lisanna said again, sounding annoyed. Sadly though, no seemed to hear her.

"I think Gajeel and Lucy will be a great team together." Mirajane cooed, though the tone of her voice made it clear she was more of thinking of them being significant others than being teammates. "I think they should name their team as Team Gajucy, it would fit them well."

"Gajeel and Lulu already went on a mission together and everything came out swell. They'll be an amazing team." Levy said happily. "What do you think, Darian?"

"I greatly trust your wisdom, Lev. Especially when it is concerning your best friend." Darian responded, an arm around his girlfriend's small form. "If you think that they as a team would be a good choice, than I support you in your belief."

"GUYS!" Lisanna yelled, finally getting the attention of the rest of her guild. The youngest Strauss sibling cleared her throat and pointed at Natsu, Gray and Erza. "I think that Lucy's team is more surprised than anyone else."

The rest of the guild looked at the three mages to see that they were still frozen in shock, their eyes still wide and unblinking with their mouths hanging. Wendy approached the mages, waving a hand in front of Natsu, only for him to not react in the slightest. Not even his eyelids moved. "It's like Evergreen turned them into stone and painted them to look like their regular selves." Romeo said as he was doing the same thing with Gray, the young mage then poking the Ice-Make multiple times in multiple areas (like his chest and stomach) only for Gray to not even acknowledge that Romeo was there. Evergreen huffed at Romeo, covering the lower side of her face with her fan as she started rambling about how 'rude' he was.

"I know the solution!" Bickslow said, rising off his seat and running towards the table where Team Natsu was. Most of the guild members of Fairy Tail were huddled around the table that Team Natsu was at, seeing as some of the guild's strongest members were in a comatose-like state. Bickslow stopped in front of Natsu, the Human Possession mage looking serious, even with his visor on. Bickslow suddenly pulled a black marker pen, pulling the lid off and drawing on Natsu and Gray's faces. Bickslow of course wasn't going to draw on Erza's face, that's equivalent to wearing a sign that told her to kill him.

"Bickslow, I don't think that is a 'solution', as you put it." Macao said in annoyance, causing Bickslow to glare at the older mage through the spaces in his helmet.

"Hey, Natsu and Gray have been drawing on our faces with a pen when we fell asleep for years now." Bickslow protested. "This is just karma."

Mirajane sighed as some of the members surrounding the frozen Team Natsu mumbled in agreement and were already pulling dibs on where they (and only they) could draw on Natsu and Gray's faces, the Take Over mage going into the storage room and coming out with a slice of strawberry cheesecake in her hand. Mirajane pushed past her guildmates, ignoring Bickslow as he was drawing a penis on Gray's cheek with the dick facing towards his mouth that was frozen wide open. Juvia will be promptly thrashing Bickslow soon.

Mirajane waved the strawberry cheesecake slice in front of Erza's face, the Requip mage sniffing as she smelled the food. Erza blinked a few times, the red-haired mage looking down at the strawberry cheesecake slice before abruptly taking it out of Mirajane's hand and eating it. Erza sucked the small crumbs of her cheesecake slice off her armoured fingers. Erza blinked, trying to recall what happened. The S-Class mage's eyes widened greatly as she finally remembered by she was put in a stasis (alongside her teammates).

"Lucy!" Erza said as she jumped up from where she sat, Requiping into her Black Wing Armour and summoning a sword, looking around the guild as she tried to detect Gajeel.

"If you're looking for Gajeel, he, Lucy and Lily have already gone onto a mission." Mirajane said calmly, even as Erza directed her eyes towards her; the strongest woman in Fairy Tail's eyes looking like a fierce glare. Sounds of crashes and bangs and noises of pain came from Bickslow as Juvia and Lisanna (in her Cat Take Over form) attacked him for what he did to their men (who still remained in their comatose-like states).

Erza still looked around before looking down at the ground, a hum of anger escaping from her as she Requiped back into her Heart Kreuz Armour and leaving the guild, heading over to Fairy Hills. Mirajane's eyes widened in concern, the Satan Soul mage was about to run after her friend but stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, the white-haired woman looking to see Cana. "Don't worry. I'll talk to her." Cana said before she started walking out of the guild doors, the brunette looking back at Mirajane. "Looks like you will be cooking fish tonight."

Mirajane looked confused at the drunkards statement. Granted Cana had drank a lot even though it was barely passing into the evening, though it was hard to determine how much she drank since Cana smelled like a myriad of alcoholic drinks all the time since at least a few weeks after her first beer. Though Mirajane had little time to ponder as Happy entered the guild through its front doors, the Exceed flying in slowly and weakly as he dragged in a giant fish. The fish looked like some sort of baby Leviathan; it had a long body of blue scales and small fins, an almost dragon-like head with two large teeth that were most likely meant to crush virtually anything in two.

Mirajane wondered how Happy was able to get the fish, though judging by the bruises on his little cat-like body, it must have been a painful and hard experience for him.

"Here you go, Carla..." Happy said weakly as he continued to pull the Leviathan-like fish into the guild, the dead sea creature's long body dragging along the ground. Happy lowered to the ground before his wings disappeared in a flash of light, the Exceed continuing to pull the creature in. The rest of the guild (sans Natsu and Gray as they were still frozen by Lucy's revelation) looked at the blue-furred Exceed in shock, surprised that Happy was able to catch a fish of _that_ calibre. It actually looked like it was nearly big enough to eat a human and looked like it was the prepubescent state of the sea monsters you fight on monster hunting missions. "I got this for... you..."

Happy made a groan as he collapsed onto the ground, though he remained conscious. Happy looked up at Carla as she approached, giving her a weak smile. "I already told you, I don't like seafood. It sometimes even makes me a little nauseous." Carla said, making the already weak-looking Happy look despondent. Mirajane frowned at Carla, the Satan Soul mage was about to scold the Exceed when she continued. "But... I still feel touched by the effort. I will give you this in my appreciation, but please take a note and try something that is actually, truly, romantic to woo me instead of fish."

Carla then kissed Happy... on the cheek. Still though, it was a kiss nevertheless. And Happy was in complete euphoria because of it. The Exceed's eyes had widened before he passed out in his happiness, murmuring incomprehensible words, though Mirajane could still pick out certain words like 'Carla', 'Fish' and 'Kittens'. Wendy picked Happy up and cradled him in her arms, immediately using her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic to heal the exhausted Exceed. Carla walked away with an impassive expression, ignoring the comments of her guildmates.

"Damn, Happy's reaction to Carla kissing him is like Juvia when Gray first kissed her." Max said to Warren, the Sandstorm mage and Telepathy mage sitting next to each other on one of the tables, having watched everything without interacting with their guildmates.

"Yeah, except that Juvia literally melted into a puddle of water."

"Ah, yes. Juvia remembers that first kiss with Gray-sama perfectly." Juvia said, startling Max and Warren as she suddenly appeared beside them. The blue-haired mage had her face cupped in her hands, blushing as she remembered the most glorious moment in her life where Gray-sama kissed her for the first of many, many times. "Juvia replays it many times in her sweetest dreams. Gray-sama is the greatest kisser in existence, like how he is the greatest in many things."

Mirajane giggled as Juvia had once again melted into a puddle of water, the Satan Soul mage looking back at the fish that Happy dragged in. "Elfman, could you please be a _manly_ brother ad help me haul this into the kitchen." Mirajane asked her brother sweetly as she pulled a cleaver from out of nowhere and was already lifting its head.

Elfman made a surprised expression and looked away from Natsu and Gray (and the guildmates that were drawing on their faces) and towards his sister. Elfman smiled at his older sister, bounding towards her and lifting up the large fish's body with ease. "It is really manly to help out your siblings." Elfman said enthusiastically as he help Mirajane bring the fish into the kitchen to be cooked.

* * *

The train carriage jerked and made small bounces as it led to its destination. Usually such shaky movements of a vehicle, or even just the movements vehicle, would be absolute torture for Gajeel, at least until he trained himself to a certain level of power that enhanced his senses to the point of motion sickness. However that Stillness Elixir that he drank barely even a day ago still had its effects in place.

As such the Iron Dragon Slayer felt no pain or discomfort, nor the vile taste of sickness in his mouth, as he, Panther Lily and Bunny Girl rode the train to a place called Roselle Village. And they were going there for the first time as a team. In his old days in Phantom Lord, Gajeel would have not given a shit about what team he was on or who he was going with, a mission was just a job that got him money and nothin' else about it mattered. However, Gajeel was now enjoying this new team he was in, a sense of pride and happiness swelling in his heart. Though this was the first time he was in a team with someone in the guild, sure he went on missions with guildmates and teams but that was something completely different.

"So what do you think, Gajeel?" Lucy asked suddenly, taking Gajeel out of his train of thought and making the Dragon Slayer look at her and Panther Lily in confusion as they looked back at him expectantly. Lucy sighed as she noticed Gajeel's confusion, knowing that she'll have to ask her question again but more clearly. "I'm talking about Team Iron Star. Do you think it's a good name or bad name?"

"Hmmm... Team Iron Star, eh?" Gajeel mused as he looked out the window and rubbed his chin, thinking about the team name. It did make sense, in a way. The iron in the name was obviously a reference to him, Gajeel, since his magic is Iron Dragon Slayer Magic. And the star was a reference to Lucy herself, since she uses Celestial Spirit Magic. It did sound kinda cool to Gajeel, sure the name itself wasn't all the intimidating or awe-inspiring, but it was a team name that referenced the two magic users of it, almost making the team name sound like an axiom. Or somethin' like that. Gajeel looked back at Lucy and Lily, the former of which looked like she was impatient for his feedback. Well, she was the one who created and suggested the name. Gajeel smiled at his teammates. "Sounds like a good name, Bunny. Sure I still think that Team Gajeel is a better name, but I'm okay with Team Iron Star."

"Then it's official, we're named Team Iron Star." Lucy said happily, raising her fist in the air in excitement.

Gajeel then leaned near his window, his elbow pressing against the sheet of glass while his cheek rested against his fist. "So how long till we reach this Roselle Village?"

"An approximate of three hours." Panther Lily answered, the cat-like being look at a small map on the side of the train's inside, which luckily listed down where both Magnolia and Roselle were.

"Really? Jeez, what a long wait." Gajeel responded, the Iron Dragon Slayer making a groan of annoyance shortly afterwards. He had a limited time of where he could once again ride on a moving object without having to spew out the contents of his stomach in pain because he's on a moving object, and he was wasting it on a train ride that lasted three hours. Though hopefully Gajeel can keep tabs on any magic shops that sell Stillness Elixirs, if that guy who gave him the Stillness Elixir wasn't the only person who sold the magic potion. Although Bunny Girl and Lily also got Stillness Elixirs for him, so he has at least three weeks where he won't feel sick from going on a moving vehicle. Growing tired of watching the blurring, moving image of the world outside the train, Gajeel moved his eyes over to Bunny Girl, the blonde mage was also looking through the window. "So, Bunny, how are you feelin'?"

"Huh?" Lucy responded, looking up at Gajeel in surprise.

"I'm... talkin' 'bout the fact that you just left your team." Gajeel said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and nervous, worried that he'll accidently make Bunny Girl cry. "I know you asked me if my offer was still open an' if ya could join, but you seemed kinda close to them still. Are you... okay with your decision?"

Lucy's features of surprise had changed, the blonde looking sadly at the ground. "To be honest, it feels like ice-cold daggers are being stabbed into my heart. I know that I will still be close friends with Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy, Wendy and Carla; I'm certain of it. But it feels... odd, and it kind of hurts. Team Natsu was my first team and what made me feel like a part of my Fairy Tail family. I know that I was doing nothing but hurting myself because I was clinging onto a team that barely continued to exist, but it still felt uncomfortable and yet liberating to join a new team." Lucy said, her voice cracking slightly, tears dropping from her eyes and down onto the wooden floor she was looking at. Gajeel felt like he himself was getting ice-cold daggers stabbed into his heart as he watched Bunny Girl go on the verge of crying. He didn't intend to hurt her like that. Lucy looked up at Gajeel, tears were still falling down her face and she continued to sniffle, though she didn't look distraught. "But I'm happy to be in a team with you. I'm sure that I will get over this, especially with your help. I've lost people that are close to me, in worse ways than with Team Natsu, this has hurt less and I know I will overcome it."

"Bunny..." Gajeel said softly, his voice almost sounding exhausted. The Iron Dragon Slayer suddenly reached out for Lucy, pulling her into a hug; the blonde's face pressed into his muscular chest by his muscular arms. Lucy looked up at Gajeel in shock, the raven-haired Dragon Slayer looking down her softly. "It's okay to cry, Bunny. I know now that you're hurtin', but I don't really know what to do to help ya. The least... that I can do is lend you a shoulder or some other body part to cry on."

Lucy continued to look up at Gajeel before sighing softly and letting her face relax comfortably in his chest. The Celestial Spirit mage had a feeling she was going to like her new team.

* * *

Cana walked up the stairs of Fairy Hills to Erza Scarlet's room. Or rather, rooms. Erza was sitting on a chair, polishing one of the many, many swords that she kept in storage in one of her other rooms. Cana knocked her fist against the wooden walls of the room that Erza was in, gaining the attention of the S-Class mage, the red-haired woman looking with a face comparable to a scowl.

"Knock, knock." Cana said casually as she entered the brooding woman's room, coming off as unintimidated despite the fact that both Cana and Erza knew that there were many ways that the latter could really hurt the former if she was angered. Cana sat down on a green armchair, her legs hanging off one of the chair's arms while her back pressed against the other arm. The brunette took a quick drink from a bottle of liquor that she was holding, looking at Erza shamelessly as the Requip mage continued to scowl at her, sharp and dangerous looking sword still in hand. Cana frowned at her angry friend. "Look, I understand that you're mad 'cause Lucy decided to begin a new team with Gajeel, but that doesn't mean you can be grumpy like someone forced a long, metal pole up your ass."

Erza slammed the blade of her sword down on the floor, even though the floor was enchanted to be safeguarded in case Erza became angry and started attacking it in her rage, chunks of the wooden floor still flew off slightly as the metal piece dug into it, though not so deeply that it would pierce through into the room bellow.

"It isn't just as simple as Lucy starting a new team with Gajeel." Erza said as she stood up, continuing to glare at Cana. A red aura of tremendous magic power surrounded Erza, though Cana didn't show any signs of fear. In fact, the user of Magic Cards was gripping her bottle slightly. "We were a _team_ , a symbol of how close our friendship was. We were meant to be inseparable, friends forever. There was never meant to be anything stronger than a good team, that one of us would only leave because of something dire. I just don't understand... why Lucy would quit our team, the team that was meant to be us _together_ , to start a new one with Gajeel."

"Well it's not like you three are gonna stop being friends with Lucy because she is now in a team with Gajeel and Lily." Cana said, taking another drink of her bottle until it was nearly empty. "I mean everyone in Fairy Tail are friends and family, so Lucy crossing over to another team isn't suddenly going to lead to you resenting her and vice versa."

"You don't understand." Erza said. "It just... all feels so _wrong_!"

Cana glared at Erza, the knight-like mage feeling the brunette's stare bore into the back of her head. Erza turned around, looking at Cana with a glower. "Do _you_ know what feels wrong?" Cana said, standing up. Erza didn't look intimidated, in fact she still looked like she was on the verge of cutting Cana into bite-sized pieces because of the anger she was feeling. The anger in Erza's eyes would be enough to scare away most guildmates, and Cana would usually be no exception. But this time, Cana wouldn't be scared, holding her magical cards in one of her hands. "What you were making Lucy go through. What all of Team Natsu was making Lucy go through."

Erza actually looked like she was taken by surprise. The Requip mage didn't summon any of her swords or change into any of her armours, Cana knew that she was getting to the scarlet-haired mage. The brunette pressed on.

"Do you know what was happening with Lucy while you, Natsu and Gray were having fun and givin' it to your lovers? She was alone, without a real team, having to take missions either by herself or with others." Cana said. Erza's face of surprise didn't change or vanish. Maybe the S-Class mage was starting to realise something, or maybe the shock was just keeping her paralyzed. Nevertheless, Cana knew that she should continue before Erza ends up mounting her head on her wall. "You all stopped going on missions with her, or at least that was what it was like for her. I remember when you all went on missions on a daily basis. Then it became only twice a week. And now it feels like it only happens once a month. I have been on missions with Lucy, and even though she hid it, I could still see the pain in her eyes. Then Gajeel went on a mission with her, he even gave her an offer to join a new team with him. Gajeel was the one to help Lucy, because she was suffering by being in a team that was barely together anymore. Now Lucy's with a new team, one that will help her. You all had abandoned her, you all abandoned your team. You're all virtually in new teams with your lovers. You... you don't have the right to become mad because Lucy decided to move on and heal."

Erza stood still, almost frozen. And then something happened. Erza didn't move, exactly. Rather, instead a tear had dropped down from her left eye. Small and slow as it slid, like a liquid snail. A little whimper escaped Erza, an almost foreign sight. The great Titania of Fairy Tail fell to her knees, her armoured hands pressing against the floor, keeping the upper area of her body from falling onto the wooden surface. Tears fell down off Erza's face and splattered onto the ground. Cana sucked the air in through her teeth and went onto her knees, patting Erza on the back in an attempt to help her. Cana did think that Lucy deserved going onto a new team, to heal herself, and she did think that Erza (and Natsu and Gray) did deserve what they were told if they were to dare to complain about Lucy having the proverbial balls to change her life.

But they were still a part of Fairy Tail, they were still members of Cana's family. And Erza was still a pillar of Cana's family; she won't let her cry.

Cana tried to think of any words that could be used to help Erza feel better without contradicting her earlier statement, but she was having trouble trying to find the words. "Am... am I really that bad of a friend?" Erza asked, cracks in her voice. The red-haired woman looked up at the brunette next to her, brown lacrimal eyes looking at purple eyes. Erza's face was becoming stained with her tears, a sight Cana thought she would never ever see. Not even in a million years. Cana did admittedly feel guilty for what she did to Erza, but it still was deserved. "Was I really hurting Lucy?"

Cana was silent as she thought out her answer, looking at the ground, soggy with Erza's tears, before looking at the aforementioned redhead. "I know it wasn't on purpose, I know you weren't doing it out of malice. But it was still there that she was hiding sadness in her eyes as your team started to drift apart." Cana said. "Wendy was starting to focus more on the healing aspect of her magic and you and the others were moving on with your lives. You were still a part of Fairy Tail, but you were no longer a part of your team. Lucy also needed to move on, and Gajeel helped her."

Erza thinned her mouth, the Requip mage directing her eyes towards the floor, now sitting up. When Jellal was finally pardoned and she could finally be with him, Erza was beyond ecstatic. They started spending time together, and in the end it seemed that Erza was spending more time with Jellal than with her team. And she didn't seem to notice or care. Natsu and Gray had to also spend most of their time with Lisanna and Juvia respectively. Erza did feel happier with Jellal than with her team because it felt like it was impossible for Erza to feel happier when she was with Jellal. Maybe Natsu and Gray had felt the same when they were with Lisanna and Juvia, once again respectively. Natsu was always grinning and smiling, but it seemed like there was a certain level of something more when he was with the youngest Strauss. He somehow seemed to be even more happy. And Gray wasn't one who smiled as much, always wearing a mask of indifference. And yet Juvia could single-handedly break that mask apart.

"Is it okay if I ask you a question?" Cana asked, taking Erza out of her ponder. Erza looked up at Cana, the knight-like mage's face and eyes showing that she was still thinking everything through. Slowly, Erza nodded. "Do you... feel like you are forcing yourself when you go on missions with your team nowadays?"

Erza froze, the question had surprisingly hit her with intense strength. She didn't know how to answer it.

Cana got up and began walking to the door of Erza's room, the brunette stopping and looking back at the Titania. "Just so you know, Lucy never blamed nor resented Jellal, Lisanna or Juvia for what happened to your team. Maybe you could do the same for Gajeel." Cana said, the brunette proceeding to walk back to the door. "And you can still go on missions with Lucy, you just most likely won't be doing it as a team anymore."

Erza was left alone in her room again, the scarlet-haired mage silent and thinking. "I owe Lucy a tremendous apology." Erza whispered as she realised what she had done to Lucy.

* * *

Somewhere on the far east side of Magnolia sat a quiet little town called Roselle Village. And in this town there was a quiet little cottage. In this cottage sat an elderly lady, humming peacefully as she was knitting away, her rocking chair making the floorboards beneath squeak as she swayed back and forth on it. She had short, brown hair that was slowly turning grey, going no further down than past her ears. She wore modest, pyjama-like clothing that covered every part of her body with the exception of her feet, her hands and her head. And even then her feet were covered with socks.

Her green eyes looked past the spectacles that were perched near the bridge of her nose, allowing her to see the garment she was knitting for her grandchildren. There was a knock at the door, the old lady looking as she heard it, due to her hearing being one of the few parts of her that didn't deteriorate with age.

The old lady got off her rocking chair, her legs wobbling slightly from her own weight. The old lady made a little hiss of pain as she rubbed her back, that surface of her body was a part of her that deteriorated as she grew older and older. The woman walked towards the door and opened it, blinking as she saw the people on the other side of the now open door. One was a beautiful blonde woman with a large bust, wearing a small skirt that was attached to her by a belt that also held a keyring, the aforementioned keyring having golden and silver keys attached to it. The blonde woman was smiling with her hands folded behind her back, giving off a little, bubbly glow. Another was a tall, muscular man with black hair, his big arms crossed over his big chest. Unlike the blonde woman, he was frowning and gave off a bit of an unpleasant sensation. The last one was a panther-like Exceed, floating up and down behind the two with angelic wings.

"Hello." The blonde greeted cheerfully, giving the lady a little wave. "I'm Lucy, and these two beside me are Gajeel and Panther Lily. We're from Fairy Tail, you should have gotten the letter that we had accepted your mission request."

The old lady's eyes widened. "Oh. If that is the case then please come in." The old lady said, opening the door wider and gesturing the three Fairy Tail mages to enter her abode. "It would be undignified of me to not invite you three in when you came all the way here to help."

The three Fairy Tail went inside her house, right to the living room. It seemed cosy enough, there was a bookshelf with many old-looking books, a large, circular, purple carpet with a rocking chair, two sofas that had three seats and a square shaped coffee table in its middle, a large, white, circular tablecloth on the coffee table, a glass vase of red roses on the middle of the cloth and table. Lucy, Gajeel and Lily sat down on one of the sofas as the old lady closed the door.

"Is there anything that you would like to eat or drink?" The lady asked, looking at the three mages that sat on one of her sofas. "Would you like any tea? You are technically my guests,"

"No thank you." Lucy answered politely.

"Nah." Gajeel answered rudely, earing him a small glare from Lucy that quickly ended.

"I wouldn't mind some tea." Panther Lily admitted.

The old lady nodded in response, walking into the kitchen, her head pointing out shortly after. "Are you okay with caramel tea?"

Lily nodded, the old lady's head disappearing back in the kitchen. The old lady eventually came out with a cup of caramel tea and a coaster, setting them down on the coffee table in front of Panther Lily. As the Exceed drank the tea, the old lady sat back down on her rocking chair, rocking to and fro from the sudden weight.

The old lady's eyes widened as she remembered something. "Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself to you." The old lady said. "My name is Carol, and as you must already know, I am the one that posted the mission request."

"Yes, your mission request about wild boars." Lucy answered.

Carol nodded. "Yes, you see Roselle Village is a place that thrives off of the cultivation of crops and flowers, which are told to be eaten and admired respectively." She explained, looking down at the knitting needles, the yarn garment and the yarn that it was of course being made from. "But recently these wild boars have been appearing and eating our plant life, and Ii want someone to put a stop to it. I'm not explicitly requesting you to kill or destroy them, but I just wish that you handle these pests before they eat our town's only source of income."

"Whatever, as long as I get to do some fightin' against somethin' than I'm all for it." Gajeel said, folding his hands behind his head.

Carol chuckled at the Dragon Slayer. "That is the can-do attitude I was hoping for." The aging lady said, rocking in her chair in an almost rhythmic pattern. "And the sooner you can handle these boars, the better."

* * *

Cana re-entered Fairy Tail. The brunette wasn't in the happiest of moods, though she still felt that she may have had to tell Erza what she told her. It had hurt Cana, knowing that one of her closest friends was in pain and there was nothing that she could truly do to help her. Cana sat at the bar, shoving the tip of the bottle in her mouth and drinking away at the drink. Cana didn't like being someone useless, someone who watched people handle their problems alone and not help. And whilst Cana wasn't the most keen on letting Gajeel heal Lucy, not because of who he is but because there was no way she could help, she knew enough to put her trust in the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Though Cana would admit that she was a little envious of Natsu, Gray and Erza, and maybe even Gajeel as of late. After all, they had a certain intimacy with Lucy, they were held close to her heart. Maybe Cana was also close to Lucy, neither were quiet about being best friends, but it wasn't enough. It didn't feel enough.

Maybe it was because Lucy transcended from friend into something much more after Tenrou Island. Cana had taken their friendship for granted and used Lucy as a tool for her ambition, one that consumed her that day. But Lucy still had it in herself to not only forgive and forget, but to also give Cana the extra push she needed to tell Gildarts the truth. Cana already had an attraction to Lucy before, but that action made the blonde mean almost too much to Cana. It was a little secret of Cana's, that she was attracted to both men and women.

And what Lucy did after Grimoire Heart's attack made Cana fall in love with Lucy. Cana looked down at the nearly empty bottle in her hand, if Gajeel becomes more than friends with benefits with Lucy then he better not take her for granted. Cana knew that Lucy's love life has been deep in the shitter for at least months now, that's the very reason why she has decided to put it on a hiatus. Another bad boyfriend will only make the problem worse.

Cana would date Lucy in a heartbeat, if she could, but it wasn't that simple. Unlike Cana, Lucy was purely straight. All Cana could ever be with the blonde was a friend and keep the façade that she never thought of Lucy as something more.

Cana looked back at Natsu and Gray, smirking as she saw that their eyes were still wide open and their jaws were still so low down it was like they were going to fall off. "If you wanna suck a big cock, you're gonna need'ta try something much better than that." Cana joked at the two, ignoring the angry glares their girlfriends were sending towards her. Cana just laughed as their mouths were still agape. "If you don't close your mouths soon, entire colonies of insects will go into you make civilisations in your bodies."

Cana heard a sound from behind, the brunette turning around to see Mirajane placing down a barrel in front of Cana, the white-haired mage knowing that Cana will be in the mood for more barrel guzzling. Hopefully it is something like wine, that's really good. "So how did it go with Erza?" Mirajane asked sweetly with genuine concern.

Cana sighed. "I'unno." Cana answered, her shoulders shrugging slightly. "I came to help her feel better, but she had the gall to complain that it felt wrong that Lucy was now in a new team. I had to tell her the truth, how Team Natsu has been stopping Lucy from moving on. Lucy _needed_ Gajeel, not only to quench the fire between her legs but to move on. She was the only member of Team Natsu that had truly still cared about the team, and she needed a new team to move on."

Mirajane thinned her lips as she looked at Cana. "Were you hard on Erza?"

Cana sighed. "Yes." She answered, though she obviously wasn't proud about it.

"Cana...!" Mirajane said, slight anger mixed into her usually high-pitched voice. Cana looked up at Mirajane, whilst the mage did look mad she didn't look like she was going to transform into one of her Satan Souls. Mirajane let out a sigh, an air of annoyance in the aforementioned sigh. "You shouldn't be so hard on her, Cana."

"You saw how hurt Lucy was as her team was drifting apart. I know Erza is mad because Lucy is now in Team Gajeel or whatever, and I know Natsu and Gray are gonna cause a freakin' rampage when they come to, but it was for the better. I still consider them my friends, and I will fight to the death for them, but there are times when an anvil needs to be dropped." Cana responded, maintaining eye contact with her guildmate. While Cana showed little expression, there was still a sense of sympathy for her friends in her eyes. Though, that emotion in her eyes was small, especially in comparison to another emotion. "They all had moved on from their team and Lucy was the first to accept it, they just need to realise the truth that even some of the strongest and closest of teams can end. But that doesn't that the members of that dead team has to start hating each other, they were friends before they became a team and they can still be friends after their team."

The guild doors opened, Erza Scarlet passing through. A thing that most members of the guild noticed was that Erza wasn't in her usual armour anymore, instead she just wearing the clothes she usually wore underneath the armour. Dried tear stains decorated Erza's face, the great Titania of Fairy Tail sitting down at the bar.

"Erza?" Mirajane said, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I have been a bad friend." Erza said, her voice sad as she looked down at the bar. Mirajane bit her bottom lip, the eldest Strauss sibling disappearing into the kitchen, only to come out shortly thereafter with a plate with a strawberry cheesecake. Mirajane placed the plate and cake slice in front of Erza, only for the Requip mage to ignore it, much to the shock of the guild, a giant, collective gasp echoing throughout the wooden building. Erza just put one of her hands on her temple as she looked down at her legs, humming until she looked back up at Mirajane. "I should be supporting Lucy for wanting to move on, instead I felt angry at Gajeel. When Lucy comes back I should apologise to her for hurting her."

"Are you okay, Erza?" Jellal asked in concern, putting his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. Erza looked at Jellal, the powerful female mage smiling at the blue-haired Heavenly Body mage. Erza brought Jellal into a deep and powerful kiss, one that had at first taken him by surprise though he quickly gave in a kissed her back. After a few more seconds of their powerful kiss, Erza and Jellal separated their lips to regain air.

Erza still smiled at Jellal, reaching her own conclusion. Erza suddenly went on one knee and held one of his hands in her two own. "Jellal, you have been one of my closest friends throughout my life. Even with the many years that you were insane in the Tower of Heaven, I still have forgiven you. And as time passed, I fell in love with you, and I am happy that you too have fallen to me." Erza said as she looked up at Jellal, who was just as surprised as everyone else, as he too was thinking that Erza was proposing to him. And proposing to him was something that Erza wasn't really doing. "When I joined Team Natsu, I thought we would have lasted forever. But I realised now that our team has changed, that we are only together because we were forcing ourselves to. Lucy has worked up the courage to face the truth and move onto a new team, and I think it is my turn now. Jellal Fernandes, will you form a new team with me."

Exclaims of surprise echoed around the guild, the only members not left nonplussed were the already frozen Natsu and Gray, Cana (who had actually almost expected this outcome) and of course Erza herself. Jellal looked and blinked down at his girlfriend, his heart beating rapidly. Jellal and Erza have been on many missions together (not to mention the time they spent together) ever since he joined Fairy Tail and they became a couple, but they never had became a real team. And yet right now Erza was asking him if he wanted to form an official team with her.

He couldn't say no to such an offer.

"I am more than happy to form a new team with you, Erza." Jellal, smiling at Erza. The red-haired mage smiled back, standing up and kissing him again.

"Wait, is Team Natsu now breaking up?" Wakaba said, his pipe hanging off of his mouth before falling off.

"Does this mean that Natsu and Gray are going to leave Team Natsu?" Nab said, still having not taken a single job in over a decade.

"Well they gotta, those two can't even just look at each other or be in the same room without fightin' to the near death." Bickslow said, having heard the other Seith mage's question (even if they were both different types of Seith mages).

"Near death. Near death." Bickslow's totems echoed.

"Wait, Wendy." Warren said, going towards the Sky Dragon Slayer. "Aren't you also a member of Team Natsu? Can't you keep Natsu and Gray from fighting?"

"Umm, actually..." Wendy said sheepishly, particularly because virtually everyone in the guild was now looking at her. "I have been thinking about becoming a solo mage for a while now. After Lucy decided to leave the team a few hours ago, I came to the conclusion that I do want to become a solo mage, at least for a while."

"Woo, attagirl, Wendy." Cana cheered, drinking from the barrel that Mirajane gave her in 'celebration'.

"When I told Lu that she should consider Gajeel's offer to join a team with him, I didn't know something like this would happen." Levy mumbled, sitting next to Darian, the petite woman having a large book on her lap, held open by her, the Solid Script mage reading it with her boyfriend prior to Erza's announcement. "Though Team Natsu was already breaking apart because of their loved ones, I guess Wendy also found it in herself to let go of Team Natsu. As long as she's happy with it then I'm okay."

"Levy!" Jet and Droy shrieked, the two other members of Team Shadow Gear appearing at the side of the blue-haired Solid Script mage, opposite to that of her Earth/Fire mage boyfriend.

"You won't leave us to form a two person team with Darian, right? Right?" Jet asked, his eyes going blurry with tears of worry, the orange-haired mage holding onto Levy's hand.

Droy suddenly pushed Jet out of the way, causing the High Speed mage to let go of Levy's hand. The plant-using mage quickly grabbed hold of Levy's hand when Jet let go, ignoring the angry yelling by the other male mage. "Y-you'll always stay as a part of Team Shadow Gear, right?" Droy asked, his eyes were also full of tears. "You know that Team Shadow Gear will never ever be the same if you decide to leave."

Jet tried to shove Droy away from Levy, much like how the more... large man did to him earlier. The two males were vigorously trying to shove each other out of the way, both were eventually letting go of Levy's hand as they tried to push and shove. Levy on the other hand giggled.

"Don't worry, I would never leave Team Shadow Gear because of my new beau." Levy responded, causing Jet and Droy to stop their little bickering. The two mages looked at Levy adoringly, still not yet over the fact that Levy was very happy in her relationship with Darian. "Although if you two let Darian join, then it will be set in stone that I don't leave Team Shadow Gear."

Jet and Droy looked at Darian, the mage deciding to be nice and smile kindly at them, the two males looking back at Levy. "Do we have to let him join?" They asked in a whiny tone. Darian became downcast, looking down at the wooden floor of the guild whilst a dark aura of gloominess surrounded him. The only way Darian could look more sad would be if a rain cloud spontaneously appeared over him and rained down. Levy looked at her boyfriend in concern before glaring at Jet and Droy, a cold shiver growing up their spines and tingling through their bodies.

"That was rude!" Levy scolded of her two teammates, making them feel shame and guilt among their fear. "Darian has been trying to be nothing but nice to you two when he joined, and you even were nice to him back. But when he and I started dating you two became jealous, even though he has still tried to be nice to you two. He has even mentioned during pillow talk that he wouldn't mind joining Team Shadow Gear. Hell, if he joined then he and I would go on less missions that were just him and me. I want you two to apologise to Darian and let him join our team, got it?"

Jet and Droy nodded and proceeded to do as Levy said, making the Solid Script mage feel better as her boyfriend brightened.

"Well, at least not all of our teams are breaking apart because of romance." Mirajane said as she watched and earwigged what happened with Team Shadow Gear. "The teams and romances of our guild has always been my favourite thing about Fairy Tail. If they ended up breaking each other apart, like they were the antithesis of each other, then my heart would be absolutely shattered."

"Don't worry, it's not like _everyone_ in our guild is like Team Natsu. Hell, Freed is still the leader of the Thunder Legion even though he and Laxus are grinding, thrusting and sucking each other." Cana said shamelessly as she finished her barrel, tossing the empty container like away like it was as light as Styrofoam. "Though I wonder how our Light of Fairy Tail and The Grumpy Pin-Cushion, and Panther Lily, are doing on whatever mission they are doing."

* * *

Carol sat in her cottage, humming as she drank from her cup of tea. The old lady had her faith in the Fairy Tail mages, after all they were members of the strongest guild in the country and it was only a simple mission of getting rid of some wild boars. And they weren't special boars, they had no magical abilities of their own nor were they an unusually large size. Indeed, they were nothing more than an abundance of boars that were eating away at Roselle's much needed vegetation. Of course, whenever or not the boars were aware of the damage they were doing to Roselle was a question that remained to be answered, but it was undisputed by the people of the village and their council that the boars were needed to be taken care of. And with all the Jewel she has saved throughout her long, long life, Carol had enough money to attract the attention of a wizard guild, hopefully a guild with strong wizards, who could handle the problem for them.

The happy old lady heard a knock at her door. Carol was quick to recognise the specific knock, though even if she didn't it wouldn't be hard to guess who the people behind the knock were. "The door is open." Carol called.

Carol's front door open, revealing Lucy, Gajeel and Panther Lily. The Celestial Spirit mage and Exceed looked happy, though the Iron Dragon Slayer looked rather disappointed.

"I take that you three completed the mission." Carol said.

"Successfully." Panther Lily responded, the panther-like entity sitting down on one of the two couches.

"We didn't kill any of them or even have to hurt that many, and even with the ones that we did hurt it wasn't that much." Lucy said happily, sitting next to Panther Lily on the couch. Lucy gave Carol a thumbs up. "It was a complete mission. So I would like our pay now."

"Ah yes, I will get your Jewel reward." Carol said, getting off her rocking chair. "I take that your friend's bad mood comes from the lack of fighting that actually happened in the mission."

Gajeel grunted in response before Lucy or Lily could say anything, leaning against the wall near the door with his hands behind his head. Carol merely chuckled as she walked up the stairs to get were she kept her Jewel, leaving the three Fairy Tail mages alone in the downstairs of her house. Lucy looked at Gajeel, frowning slightly as he looked utterly disappointed about how the mission turned out. Lucy got off the couch and walked towards the Iron Dragon Slayer, said man opening an eye halfway as he smelled her scent nearing him. A shiver ran across Gajeel's body, her amazing triple combination of strawberries, jasmine and stardust touched his nose. He just wanted to pull Lucy in a strong embrace and sniff her lovely scent. And maybe even fuck her brains out.

Of course though, Lily is present. And the old lady that they are in the house of will probably have a heart attack if she finds them fucking in her house. Hell, even Gajeel had the decency to not just fuck someone while he's in someone else's house.

Unless if he was given permission for it, but Gajeel doubted that the old lady would be happy with Gajeel and Bunny Girl having sex in her house.

"Hey, Gajeel." Lucy said as she stood in front of the leaning Dragon Slayer. Gajeel gave Lucy a small grunt, in case if his half open eye wasn't enough of an indicator that he was aware of her. "Look, I'm sorry that this mission wasn't what you expected, I truly am. I promise that we will go on another mission that has a lot more fighting next. Not right now, of course; I've already been on two missions today and I'm definite that I will be able to sleep quietly and peacefully tonight because I'm tired from all the magic energy that I have used up."

Gajeel grunted again, no longer leaning against the wall as he stood on his two feet. "It's not your fault, Bunny, it just didn't turn out the way you expected. 'Sides, you and Lily were happy enough with it so I guess it's good enough in my book." Gajeel said, patting Lucy softly on the head. Lucy smiled, happy that her friend was happy. Gajeel suddenly gave Lucy a dirty grin, one that the blonde woman quickly noticed. "But you better not be too tired, 'cause I'm plannin' on fucking ya tonight."

The loud clearing of an old throat was heard inside the room, causing Gajeel and Lucy to freeze with widened eyes. "I would appreciate it if you didn't use such crude language in my house." Carol said. Gajeel and Lucy turned their heads towards the ageing lady, seeing her standing in the middle of the room with a big sack of Jewels in one of her hands, giving them a disapproving frown.

" _What the hell? Was she some kinda ninja in the past or somethin'?_ " Gajeel mentally asked incredulously, not understanding how the haggard woman was able to sneak in.

"Umm..." Lucy said, embarrassed, rubbing the back of her head and giving Carol a nervous smile. "I'm sure that you won't deduct from our pay because of that. Right?"

Carol closed her eyes, her frown remaining. Lucy felt herself tense, the Celestial Spirit mage fearing that payment would be deducted because of Gajeel's plans. Lucy already had enough money to pay for her rent for about five months, if she doesn't spend too much on luxuries, but the many missions with the rest of... her old team had made it a reflexive impulse for Lucy to worry about the deduction of pay, although that was mostly because her old teammates (though they are still some of her closest friends ever) often left a few roads broken and a few buildings levelled.

Carol's face softened. "A few words of the coarse language is nothing against the boars we were troubled with, I will forgive you three for the mistake of one." Carol said, handing her sack of Jewel towards Lucy as the busty woman approached her. The ageing lady of Roselle Village waved the three mages goodbye as they left her house.

In no time, Lucy, Panther Lily and Gajeel were on the train back to Magnolia. A thought occurred in Lucy's head, the blonde looking at the black-haired Dragon Slayer and cat-like entity sitting next to her. "Is it possible that I can ever come over to your house one day, Gajeel and Lily?" Lucy asked, the abruptness of her question surprising the two males, leaving them nonplussed for a few seconds before Panther Lily was the first to react, the little Exceed smiling at Lucy.

"It would be fair, we have visited your own house many times, but we have never had the courtesy to invite you to our own home." Panther Lily said politely. "And I think it would be a pleasure for you to visit our house, don't you think, Gajeel?"

Gajeel blinked, finally becoming able to react to Lucy's question. "Sure, Bunny, you can come over to our house." Gajeel responded, giving Lucy a smile. It wasn't a dirty, lust-filled smile or an annoying smirk, but a genuine, caring smile. "We are a team, after all. And we may treat each other like family at Fairy Tail, but when we're in a team we're even closer as family. Or some of that other friendship talk that Salamander never seems to shut up about."

Lucy giggled at Gajeel's mention of Natsu and friendship talk, her fingers over her mouth and her eyes closed. In truth, most members of Fairy Tail have done it once, Lucy herself even being a little guilty, but Natsu seemed to give it out in spades. Lucy just prayed that Natsu didn't make Lisanna rip her own hair out with his behaviour, she didn't want one of her best friends to go bald from another one of her best friends.

Lucy opened her eyes, only to see Gajeel looking at her with a mesmerized face. Gajeel blinked and twitched his head as he became aware that the blonde Celestial Spirit mage was looking back at him, looking away, his cheeks turning a pinkish colour. Lucy blinked in surprise, the sight of Gajeel blushing remaining as a surprise to her. "Sorry, I was just checkin' to see if you were crying or not because I mentioned Salamander. I worried that mentionin' him would have made you sad because of your decision." Gajeel apologised, looking out of the window of the moving train. Lucy looked at Panther Lily for confirmation if what Gajeel claimed was true, the Exceed shrugging response, he guess was as good as his. Gajeel looked at Lucy, making what sounded like a guttural sound of defeat. "And... I really liked hearing you laugh."

Well _that_ took Lucy by surprise, probably as much as her question about coming over to Gajeel and Lily's house one day had with them. Of course Lucy was like a human sculpture made with a surprise face before she had fully reacted, smiling happily at Gajeel. "Well if you manage to be a good teammate and friend, then maybe you'll get to hear me laugh more." Lucy responded with a little, innocent wink.

Gajeel jerked back, his blush deepening before he looked back out of the window. Lucy just ended up giggling more, causing the corners of Gajeel's mouth to turn upwards slightly for a few seconds before returning to straight lines. The blonde also decided to look out the window, admiring the scenery that they were passing by at high speeds. Panther Lily smiled as he looked at his friends, maybe they'll realise their feelings for each other on their own.

* * *

He felt exhausted and heavy, like a mage with some gravity-manipulating magic decided to use it push some extra gravity down on him. Or maybe a mage with a type of magic that can manipulate weight just decided to make heavier. Point is, he felt like an invisible force was pushing him down on the bed he was laying on.

And that bed felt really comfy and cosy, though he didn't understand he was laying on his back. Usually when he slept, he was curled into a ball.

Happy made a little moan as he forced his eyes open, the little Exceed smiling as he saw Carla looking down at him. Granted, she was in her human form and Happy much preferred it when she was in her natural cat form, but he was happy to see her nevertheless. "Carla!" Happy exclaimed in delight, the top half of his body springing upwards with his arms outstretched like he was going to hug his fellow Exceed. However, Happy's eyes bulged out, the top half of his body falling back down.

Carla gingerly placed a hand on top of the blue-furred Exceed, careful to not hurt him but still stop him from getting back up. "You were left utterly exhausted when you came back with the fish. You need to rest." Carla said sternly.

Happy's eyes widened as Carla mentioned the fish. "Oh yeah, the fish." Happy said casually, no doubt he has became reckless from being raised mostly by Natsu. "I remember that you kissed me for getting it for you, so you must have really like it. Did you find it tasty, my special Carla?"

Carla growled, her tolerance having reached its limit. "I DO NOT LIKE FISH, DAMMIT!" Carla outburst, having temporarily lost her control over herself to her emotions. Happy was left shocked by Carla's sudden outburst, the little cat looking up at her with wide and scared eyes. Carla breathed in and out, calming down and looking back at Happy, though her face still held a shadow of a scowl. Happy continued to look at the transformed Exceed, even though most of the fear in his eyes had died out, some of it remained in the globular organs. Maybe now he will listen to Carla as she continued to talk to him, this time as calmly as she could. "I only kissed you on the cheek, okay. On. The. Cheek! And I only did it out of appreciation of the effort. I have told you time and time again that I don't like seafood, but you keep on ignoring me. Mira is chopping up and cooking the fish you brought back, but I won't be eating it because I don't like the taste. If you were to just listen to my suggestions, ones that _don't_ put your life at risk, I might actually consider you. Just listen to me, for once."

Happy stared up at Carla, his stare haven't changed since Carla outburst at him. Carla sighed, while she may be annoyed by Happy's endless attempts at wooing her, she didn't want him to fear her. Carla closed her eyes, her body losing its features as it was covered by a bright light, changing back into Carla's regular Exceed form. Carla used her Aria magic to fly onto the bed that Happy was laying on in the guild infirmary. The white-furred Exceed was going to talk, but was stopped as Happy abruptly hugged her.

"I'm sorry, Carla...!" Happy cried into the shoulder of his fellow cat-like entity that he was in love with, taking the white-furred female by surprise. Happy stopped hugging Carla and moved back so the two Exceeds were looking at each other, the blue-furred male's eyes big and teary. "I... I'm sorry that I haven't been listening to you, Carla."

Carla sighed, the white-furred Exceed was about to say something to Happy when the door to the guild's infirmary open. "Oh, it's good to see that you're awake. I was hoping that you would get the chance to try out the fish you brought back to the guild." Mirajane said sweetly as she walked into the infirmary, holding a plate that had a piece of the sea creature on it, uncooked since the Satan Soul mage knew that Happy preferred his fish raw.

Happy's eyes brightened at the sight of the piece of the fish and, despite his exhaustion, was quick to eat it. Mirajane giggled, looking at Happy and then at Carla.

"So, how did it go?" Mirajane asked.

Carla sighed in annoyance. "I _think_ I might have gotten through his thick skull, but I'm not certain." The white-furred Exceed replied.

Happy, now with a big belly full of the piece of fish he ate, made a happy sigh. The blue-furred Exceed then looked at Carla and Mirajane. "So what happened while I went to get the fish for Carla?" Happy asked innocently, unaware of what was happening to Team Natsu. Happy's eyes widened as he remembered something recent. "Oh, but Carla doesn't like fish, so I won't get fish for her anymore."

Mirajane thinned her lips and furrowed her brow, looking at Carla with troubled eyes, the white-furred Exceed looking back at her with eyes that were just as troubled as she didn't know how to break the news to Happy either. Happy looked at Mirajane and Carla, blinking innocently as he didn't understand what happened.

"Um, well..." Mirajane said, sweating slightly. "Well Team Natsu, as in Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Erza, went on a high-paying mission and they of course did it. And since they weren't near any property owned by the requesters or such, they didn't get any money deducted."

"Wow." Happy said, his eyes shining with glee. "Imagine all the yummy fish I could get...!"

Carla hit her forehead with her paw as Mirajane made an amused laugh, however she was soon biting her bottom lip as she remembered the new that she'll have to tell Happy.

"Mira? Is something wrong?" Happy asked, noticing the troubled look on Mirajane's face. Happy's eyes had shown an innocence, though they started to fill with worry. "Did something happen to Team Natsu?"

"Lucy left the team." Carla said, no longer able to keep the information concealed. Shock filled Happy's eyes, the Exceed looking at Carla incredulously. Carla sighed, knowing that the information she released had put her in an event horizon of sorts. "Gajeel had offered Lucy the chance to form a new team with him and Lily some time in the past. She decided to accept his offer, and not too long ago Erza decided to leave Team Natsu to create a new team with Jellal. Wendy has also decided to leave to become a solo mage, and where she goes I go, so I will be leaving Team Natsu with her. And since Gray and Natsu can't even look at each other without fighting, I doubt Team Natsu will last much longer."

"But... but..." Happy whimpered, his eyes going wet as he was on the verge of tears. Carla transformed into her human transformation and held Happy in a hug, petting his little head softly.

"I know you may be sad, but this wasn't without warning." Carla said as she petted Happy, her petting managing to help calm the Exceed down. "Did it not occur to you that you and Natsu have been spending more time with Lisanna and gong on more mission with her than you have with the rest of Team Natsu? Or that the same with has been happening with Gray and Erza with Juvia and Jellal respectively? Our team has been drifting apart. But that doesn't mean we're no longer friends. Your friendship with Lucy and the others won't end because our team is breaking up, we're all just moving on and going in different ways."

Mirajane was stifling her squeal as she watched the two Exceeds (even if one of them was in a human transformation), her heart pounding as she watched them. Mirajane managed to calm herself down and stop her inner fangirling. The shape-shifter cleared her throat and sat on the bed that Carla and Happy were sitting on. "So, are you feeling better now?" Mirajane asked sweetly with genuine care.

Happy was sniffling, the blue-furred cat-like entity calming down. "Yeah. I feel better now." Happy said, his voice clearing of cracks. "In fact, I feel happy, like my name. I'm happy that I can still remain as friends with the rest of Team Natsu, especially Carla and Lucy."

"Oh, you care a lot about Lucy?" Mirajane asked with interest.

"Yeah." Happy answered. "After Carla, Natsu and Lisanna, Lucy is my favourite. Of course I care about her, it's just so much more fun to annoy and tease her."

Happy tried to stand up, however his legs quickly lost power and he dropped down. Luckily, he was still on the bed. Carla stood up, still in her human transformation, and picked Happy up and held him in her arms like a owner would do with their cat. And, of course, Happy didn't mind.

"Would you like to go back down to the bottom of the guild?" Mirajane asked sweetly, holding her arms out for Carla to pass the blue-furred Exceed to her. Carla was quick to hand over Happy to Mirajane, much to the male Exceed's displeasure because he was no longer being held by the Exceed her loves. However Happy quickly covered up his displeasure and smiled up at the Satan Soul mage.

"Yes." Happy answered.

Mirajane walked out of the guild infirmary, holding Happy in her crossed arms. Happy heard the faint sounds of whooshing air, looking to see that Carla turned back into her cat form (which Happy greatly preferred), flying with angelic wings grown by her Aera magic. Happy looked around the guild as Mirajane placed him on the bar, the Exceed noticing that Erza and Jellal were sitting at the bar and eating a strawberry cheesecake together. Happy looked around for Natsu and Gray, the Exceed bursting into laughter as he saw the dumbstruck expressions that were frozen on the two mages' faces. Happy saw a familiar face in his peripherals, the cat-like entity looking to see Lisanna.

"Are you feeling better, Happy?" Lisanna asked with genuine concern for her surrogate son.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better." Happy answered in a manner that greatly befitted his name. Happy then noticed that Carla flew towards Wendy, the Exceed and Dragon Slayer soon being asked by Reedus if they could sit still so he could paint a picture of them, something which they complied to. Happy looked back at Lisanna, noticing the minor distress on her face. "I heard about the news, about Team Natsu breaking up. But it's okay, because I know we will remain as friends."

A sigh of relief came from Lisanna, the distress disappearing from the white-haired woman. The two large guild doors opened, the mages inside of the guild growing quiet, so quiet that even the usually silent squeaks of the guild doors had echoed around the building's insides. There, on the other side of the now opened doors, were Lucy, Gajeel and Panther Lily.

"Umm... hi." Lucy said nervously as virtually all of the eyes of the guild were on her, giving her guildmates a nervous little handwave. Erza got off of her barstool without saying anything, the mighty red-haired mage walking towards Lucy. Lucy had tensed as the tremendously powerful mage approached her, her eyes shadowed by her long hair and the edges of her lips turned down. Gajeel could sense Lucy's tenseness, putting one of his muscular arms in front of the blonde protectively, however Erza didn't acknowledge it, like his arm would barely stop her. Erza stopped as she was in front of Lucy, a single brown eye starring at the Celestial Spirit mage through scarlet hair. Lucy was starting to shake, fearing that she was wrong, fearing that Erza - one of the closest friends she has ever had - now hated her, and might even attack her. "Uh... Erza...?"

Erza suddenly pulled Lucy into a hug, the hug unintentionally hurting due to Erza's strength, armour and lack of restraint in her hug as she was slightly overwhelmed with emotion. "I'm sorry, Lucy." Erza said as she loosened her hug around Lucy, though her arms still surrounded the blonde. Lucy looked at Erza, the blonde's surprised brown eyes looking at the redhead's sad brown eyes. "I owe you and apology... I owe both you and Gajeel an apology. I'm sorry that I unintentionally drifted from you, I'm sorry that all of Team Natsu drifted away from you. If I knew I was hurting you, I would have done something... I would have at least tried to help. I'm sorry, I didn't notice the pain you were in because I was spending too much time with Jellal. At first I was mad at Gajeel, because I found the concept of you joining a new team to be wrong, but now I know that I was being selfish for thinking that. Lucy, I beg that you forgive me."

Lucy was surprised as Erza, the strongest woman in Fairy Tail who seemed to be unbreakable, was crying on her chest. Jellal was quick to appear behind Erza, pulling his armour-clad into a hug, one that Erza quickly returned, though it did nothing to stop the tears. Lucy felt guilty, she didn't want to hurt any of her close friends by going onto a new team.

"Hey, Erza, it's alright." Lucy said, joining Jellal in giving Lucy a hug. "Yes, it hurt that our team was slowly drifting, but I should also be for blame; I held onto our team when I needed to move on. And I don't blame or hate you, Natsu or Gray. I hope that we can still be the best of friends, even if we are on different teams."

Erza's crying had stopped, the scarlet-haired mage looking at her friend happily. "And I hope so too." Erza replied. "And I hope that Gajeel and Panther Lily treat you like a true teammate."

"I promise that I will value her greatly as a comrade." Lily said impassively, the calm Exceed landing on Lucy's shoulder. "And I am certain that Gajeel will also value her."

Gajeel smirked, the Iron Dragon Slayer slinging one of his arms around Lucy's shoulders and pulling her close to him, making her blush unconsciously. "I'm already protectin; Bunny Girl and I don't plan on stoppin', so I don't need to be death threated or nothin'."

Lucy's blush had deepened from what Gajeel said, the blonde noticing that Natsu and Gray were still sitting at the table they were sitting at when Lucy and Gajeel formed Team Iron Star only a few hours ago, their eyes and mouths frozen wide open. "Um... do you think we should worry for them?" Lucy asked, pointing at the frozen Fire Dragon Slayer and Ice Devil Slayer. "I don't think that is normal, not even by our current standards for normal."

Erza looked at Gray and Natsu, her lips pressing against each other before she looked at Lucy, putting one of her armoured hands on the Celestial Spirit summoner's shoulder, giving her an earnest smile. "Don't worry, when they come to I'll explain everything to them. And trust me when I say that they _will_ understand." The Requip mage said. "I will make sure that Natsu and Gray understand what I have came to understand and that they too will respect your decision.

"Thank you, Erza." Lucy responded, though judging by some of Erza's tone, Lucy suspected that the S-Class mage will use her usual methods of getting someone to understand things. But Natsu and Gray have survived many times when they should have died, so they will surely survive what Erza does... hopefully.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well here's the seventh chapter, kinda filler-like 'cause not much happened here, but hopefully the story will progress more from the next chapter. And sorry for, like, the two weeks without a new chapter of this story, vacation and other stories that I'm working on.**

 **Yeah, this would have been out a lot sooner if I wasn't working on other stuff, but I got a couple ideas in my head, and I've posted some of the stuff that I've written, including a MardLu fic. But yeah, I'll be working on other stuff (both Fairy Tail related and not Fairy Tail related) whilst working on this, but hopefully it doesn't setback the updating of this fanfic too much.**

 **And I would much appreciate it if you leave a review, but that is only if you want to leave a review. That is purely up to you.**

 **Toodles.**


	8. To Sorrel

Laxus sat in front of his little sister, Gajeel and Panther Lily. Freed sat next to his Lightning Dragon Slayer boyfriend, both wearing an impassive mask; though a difference between them was that Freed was looking at the new trio while Laxus was rubbing his temples with his index and middle finger. "So, if what I have heard is true, then you decided to ditch Team Natsu and form a new team called Team Iron Star with Gajeel and Lily." The Lightning Dragon Slayer said to the blonde that he saw as his own little sister.

"First of all, I have a name and you know it. You have known that I have a name and what that name is long before you marked me as your sister." Lucy said comedically, probably to stop the situation from becoming intense, as an intense situation that can come from Laxus Dreyar will be like the gates of Hell itself were ripped off their hinges and there was nothing stopping the storm of chaos from flowing out. However Lucy's demeanour became a more serious one, the blonde was practically scowling at Laxus; and the immensely powerful mage actually flinched. Gajeel smirked, leave it to Lucy to make someone far stronger than her actually become afraid. Gajeel knew that he is _really_ going love having Bunny Girl as a member of his team. "And I didn't ditch Team Natsu, as you say. I decided to form a new team because my old one was barely even existing, I was the only one who was truly holding onto it. I just had to let go. Erza managed to come to understanding what happened and she promised that she would explain it to Natsu and Gray, so there shouldn't be any bad blood between me and them. And I don't get why you two are making a fuss of me joining a new team."

Laxus crossed his arms over his large chest, making a grunting sound. Freed decided that he should continue for his Laxus. "We are just making sure that Gajeel and Lily will be loyal to you and won't make your heart suffer in pain like your last team." Freed answered, keeping his voice and face as impassive as possible. "We have noticed that you were being hurt by your teammates slowly drifting apart... as that, teammates. And it was to our horror and anguish that there was nothing we could do to help you, especially because of your insistence that we don't do anything. We are simply doing our job as older siblings and making sure that Gajeel and Panther Lily don't let their love life get in the way of them being a part of your new team."

" _Ha! As if I'm ever lettin' myself fall in love again._ " Gajeel thought as he leaned back, a grin of amusement stretching across his face as he revelled from the annoyance that was breaking through the two stuck-up mages' masks. "Y'know, I'm begging to think that you two just get turned on from accusing me of nothing."

"I take absolutely no enjoyment in this, and neither does Laxus." Freed said, glaring down at Gajeel darkly, his arms crossed over his chest. "If you dare cause our little sister to suffer from heartbreak-"

"It ain't gonna happen...!" Gajeel growled, his hand gripping at one of the sides of the table, causing the part around it to crack and splinter under the immense force. Freed and Laxus were actually startled by the daggers in Gajeel's glare, and if he wasn't in this emotion of anger then he would definitely be enjoying this noticeable crack that he put in their masks. However, the thought that Lucy's so-called older brothers, the ones that look out for her because they love her so much, would dare to think that Gajeel would hurt her. "I'm not falling in love again, got it? Unlike those idiots that were a part of Team Salamander, I actually care about Bunny Girl, as friend, as a guildmate, and as a partner in sex."

Lucy, Panther Lily, Freed and Laxus stared at Gajeel with frozen expressions. Laxus was the first to regain control of himself. "Fine then. Even if I'm not okay with your new risqué relationship with my little sister, I guess that you're good enough of a teammate for Blondie." The second generation Dragon Slayer said to the first generation. The man with the lightning-shaped scar then looked at Panther Lily, the Exceed almost feeling like he needs to transform into his battle body just to look more intimidating towards Laxus, and Freed as the green-haired mage was also looking glaring down at him. "Now, will you be a loyal teammate to our little sister...?"

"Sheesh, I know having two protective brothers would come with its benefits and drawbacks, but now I can't join a new team without them scrutinizing them? Talk about being overprotective." Lucy said, her words somehow unheard of by Laxus, despite his Dragon Slayer hearing. It was possibly because he and Freed were too focussed on Panther Lily, especially as he had resulted into transforming into his bigger, more muscular, battle form. Lucy looked away from her brothers in spirit, the blonde deciding to look at Gajeel to see if he was okay. It was, however, to Lucy's surprise when she saw that Gajeel was looking at her intently, his already slit eyes were even more narrow than before. "Uh... Gajeel?"

The Iron Dragon Slayer suddenly started to blink his eyes rapidly while shaking his head from side to side quickly, the man with ink-black hair looking confused when he stopped. "Uh... what happened?" Gajeel said. "I kinda went blank just then."

Lucy put her bottom lip between her teeth, not knowing what to answer to Gajeel, particularly because she herself wasn't quite sure of what had happened. Lucy pressed the nail of her thumb into the pad of her index finger, not even fully noticing or knowing why. "My brothers are interrogating Panther Lily to make sure that he 'remains loyal' to Team Iron Star." Lucy answered, after all that was the truth. Even if it wasn't the exact or explicit truth or answer that Gajeel wanted, it should still be enough for him. It was that only thing that the Celestial Spirit mage was certain was true. "But I think that we are a team regardless, and that we won't stop being a team like Team Natsu. Even if Lily doesn't make the cut in their book, I'm still accepting him as a part of my new team. As a part of _our_ new team."

That same warmth that Gajeel experienced when Lucy hugged him after their first mission together returned, and he wanted to pull Lucy into a bear hug. And Gajeel did; before either him or Lucy knew it, the Iron Dragon Slayer had wrapped his arms around Lucy into a hug. This wasn't a first time that he hugged her, but what was the first time is that he started nuzzling the blonde woman; the side of his face rubbing gently against the top of her head. Lucy was left startled, being suddenly brought into Gajeel's chest while he was nuzzling her head like a happy cat or dog. Lucy's ear was pressed against Gajeel's pectorals, the blonde hearing a vibratory sound that repeated itself in a certain rhythm. Lucy's eyes went wide with a hot feeling in her cheeks, was Gajeel purring as he hugged her?

Two clearings of a throat were heard, causing Gajeel to stop and slowly look up. With draconic eyes, Gajeel glared at Laxus and Freed, the two other mages not noticing the subtle change in Gajeel's eyes before they turned back to normal. Gajeel was confused as to why Laxus and Freed were glaring at him. The Dragon Slayer smelled Lucy's irresistible scent from beneath him, looking down to see her looking up at him with a flushed and surprised face, held close to his body purely by him.

Gajeel widened his eyes, letting go of Lucy. Laxus kept his eyes on Gajeel in his earlier, more angry, way before speaking. "You two check out, you're allowed to officially be a part of a team with our little sister." Laxus said to Gajeel and Panther Lily. "But if I dare hear about either of you two abandoning her for something or someone else, you better run. Because if anyone dares hurt her like her old team did, I will give them Hell for retribution."

Laxus disappeared in a flash of lightning and Freed turned into countless infinitesimal, dark purple runes that disappeared to who knows where. "Those two, so overbearing at times. I love them anyways." Lucy said after her two brothers disappeared, the constellation summoner then turning around to face Gajeel and Lily, smiling happily. "So, what do you guys want to do now?"

A wide smile stretched across Panther Lily's face, the Exceed answering before the Dragon Slayer could. "Didn't you say that you wanted to come over to our house sometime?" Lily asked, the panther-like entity somehow not noticing that he was still in his battle form. "Well then you can come over and see it right now."

"Hmm." Lucy hummed as she continued to sit where she was on the table, her eyes closing and the pad of her index finger pressing against her lips. Lucy slid an eye open, laughing behind closed lips as she saw the confused looks on Gajeel and Lily's faces. "Not now, I have had my own teammates drop by my own abode spontaneously and unexpectedly in the past, so I think I will drop by your house another day when you're not prepared for me. Just think of it as a sort of payback for what Natsu, Erza and Gray and a few other members of our guild - including yourselves, might I add - have been doing throughout most of my life as a member of Fairy Tail."

"Jeez, Bunny. I thought you wouldn't be one who would make people pay for the sins of others." Gajeel said, hands on his hips. "An' good luck findin' me and Lily's home, we don't quite live in Magnolia."

"It's all alright. I know and am friends with Mira, who knows where everyone in the guild lives. If I ever want to find your house, I could just ask Mira where you live. Or I could surprise just you, Gajeel, and ask Lily where you two live." Lucy retorted, drinking the strawberry milkshake that sat next to her. "By the way, Lily, you're still in your battle mode. You should probably turn back into your normal self unless you want the attention of some cats or Exceeds that are in heat."

Panther Lily blushed as he remembered moments where female cats, both the normal Earth Land ones and the Exceeds from Edolas,, had seen his battle mode and let out specific pheromones because they recognised him enough as a cat but also noticed his physique. Given his more prude and dignified personality, Panther Lily was able to keep himself under control under most occasions. Though the Exceed was like most other organisms on the planet where he would be overcame by his hormones. Whilst Lily would never do the dirty deed with any of the cats or Exceeds that let out the pheromones, he still had his ways to get his hormones to calm down; but that's something that will never be talked about.

Panther Lily's body glowed before becoming encompassed entirely by the light coming from it, turning back into what was his default body ever since coming to Earth Land. Lucy giggled, approaching Lily before kneeling down and petting him on the head.

The guild doors opened, a sad-looking Dragon Slayer and Devil Slayer trudging into the guild. Lucy looked up from Panther Lily, the blonde feeling a little crack form in her heart as she saw Natsu and Gray walking into the guild, looking so lifeless and guilty. They were still her closest friends, seeing them so emotionally hurt was more than she could bear. Lucy got back on her two feet and ran towards her friends as they walked in like a duo of depressed Zombies. Erza followed in after the two males, her gauntlet-clad arms crossed over her armour-clad chest, a look of a certain regret underneath a look of certain seriousness. Lucy stopped in front of Natsu and Gray, the two mages looking up from the ground and at her.

Lucy felt like a little weight was placed on her from their eyes, the Celestial Spirit summoner put her hand up, like in a greeting, about to say hi to them, but the two mages suddenly tackled her into a hug. Lucy fell onto her back with a little thud, the blonde looking up at the two friends on top of her, looking at her with sad and regret-filled eyes. Dried tear stains were on the Fire Dragon Slayer and Ice-Make mage's faces, the apologetic faces they were making towards Lucy caused the cracks in the blonde's heart to deepen.

"Lucy..." Natsu said, though his words were quickly lost in his throat and he couldn't speak anymore. His eyes, usually full of life, looked so hurt and lost. The pink-haired man just looked at the blonde best friend that he was on top of. "...I'm sorry."

"We... we didn't mean to hurt you." Gray said, his voice sounding as broken as a mirror smashed with a hammer. Lucy could feel the cracks spread around her heart, but she was still adamant about her decision. "We... we don't deserve a friend like you. We were abandoning our team and we were leaving you to keep it all together. We... shouldn't have hurt you like that. Team Natsu is over... but I hope we can remain as friends."

Lucy could hear what sounded like the crack of thunder from outside, before being followed by the patter of rain. Earlier, Lucy had looked at the sky to see that there was very little clouds, nor did she hear any predictions or reports of a storm coming. Lucy turned her head to the side, seeing Juvia and Lisanna standing in front of her, looking just as guilty if not more than their boyfriends.

"Lucy... we're also sorry for causing Natsu and Gray to drift away from you." Lisanna said, the youngest Strauss sibling looking like she was going to start crying. Juvia suddenly rushed forward towards Lucy, throwing Natsu and even Gray off of the blonde mage before pulling her into a tight hug and crying into her chest, the rain outside increasing tenfold.

"Juvia is so sorry towards Lucy-san." The water-using woman cried, inadvertently squeezing Lucy like a snake. "Juvia just loves being with Gray-sama because Gray-sama makes the rain always go away, and Juvia is too selfish to share Gray-sama with anyone else. Juvia just wishes that Lucy-san doesn't break up with Gajeel-kun because Gajeel-kun and Juvia are best friends and Juvia is a selfish, boyfriend-stealing witch."

"Bunny and I ain't freaking dating, you crazy rain woman." Gajeel said as he grabbed hold of Juvia's back, trying to pull the blue-haired off of Lucy. However Juvia had her arms around Lucy tight with a grasp like glue, thus Lucy was hanging above the ground as Gajeel held them both up in the air with a single hand holding onto Juvia's back. Gajeel's eyes had widened as he saw Lucy hanging off of Juvia's arms, though the Iron Dragon Sayer ended up laughing at the sight. "Okay, that's freakin' hilarious. You can be weird and bizarre at times, but you sure can be funny when you do it."

"Um, Gajeel, help me...!" Lucy said, glaring at the insensitive Dragon Slayer while Panther Lily tried to pull Juvia's arm and hands off. Gajeel just continued to laugh as Lucy and Lily were trying to struggle Juvia off the Celestial Spirit mage. Erza moved forward, prepared to help her friend, but stopped as Jellal put an arm in front of her. Erza looked at her blue-haired boyfriend/teammate with a raised eyebrow, the Wizard Saint-level mage silently telling her to not do anything. Erza looked back at the four members of Fairy Tail; Lucy and Lily were still trying to get the former out of the hysterical Juvia's hold while Gajeel was holding them and laughing at them. Gajeel looked down at Lucy, the black-haired Dragon Slayer still laughing. However, he saw the pleading look in Lucy's eyes. Gajeel stopped laughing, a pink tint appearing on his face before he helped Lucy and Lily, managing to get Juvia to let go of the blonde-haired woman.

"There, better?" Gajeel asked as he got Juvia off of Lucy, the blonde landing onto the wooden floor of the guild. The Iron Dragon Slayer put his blue-haired friend back on her feet, the same blue-haired friend thankfully not tackling Lucy into another tight hug of sadness.

"Wow, thank you for being so helpful." Lucy said sarcastically after landing flat on her back. The blonde felt something like a lump against her back, the blonde sitting up and looking where she layed to see Panther Lily, unconscious with swirls in place of his eyes. Lucy panicked, picking up the little Exceed and shaking him from side to side in an attempt to wake him back up.

"Hey, I did help you there. If it weren't for me then Juvia here would still be stuck like glue to you." Gajeel said to Lucy in a faux tone of being offended, the blonde listening to the man as she tried to bring Panther Lily out of his unconsciousness. "Y'know, it wouldn't hurt to be a little more grateful when people help ya, Miss Light of Fairy Tail."

"Well maybe I would be more grateful if you helped me from the get-go instead of laughing at me." Lucy retorted, not looking back at Gajeel. Panther Lily woke up in Lucy's hands, blinking in confusion, though he didn't seem to be angry or willing to hurt.

"Ain't my fault it was funny as all hell." Gajeel responded, smirking at the little glare his new teammate was giving him. Lucy stood up in front of Gajeel and huffed, giving him a little punch on the chest.

Lucy then walked past Gajeel, to where the gloomy-looking Natsu, Gray, Lisanna ad Juvia stood, giving her their guilty eyes. Lucy merely gave her friends a cheerful and bubbly smile, much to their surprise. "What's wrong, guys? I don't have any back feelings against any of you." Lucy said, keeping her smile on her surprised friends. Lucy then proceeded to pull Natsu and Gray in a hug, fitting an arm around both of their bodies. "We're still friends. Nothing awkward has to be between us, I would still give my life for you two and I know you two would do the absolute same for me; there's no reason for us to suddenly stop being friends and hating each other."

"R-really, Luce?" Natsu asked, his voice uncharacteristically unsure and wavering.

"Yes. I still considered you two to still be some of my closest friends, even when I formed Team Iron Star with Gajeel. It would take something truly horrendous and unforgivable for me to hate you two." Lucy said to Natsu and Gray. The blonde then landed her brown eyes on Lisanna and Juvia, unwrapping her arms from around her two former teammates and walked towards their two girlfriends, keeping a happy smile directed towards them. Lucy took Lisanna and Juvia's hands and cupped them in her own. "And I still see you two as some of my closest friends and guildmates. I don't blame you two for causing our team to fall apart. You shouldn't feel guilty; you two make Natsu and Gray really happy, and I think that matters more than them forcing themselves to remain in the team when they want to spend time with you; especially now that I am in a team with Gajeel."

"Lucy...!" Lisanna breathed, tears surrounding her blue eyes as she looked at the blonde spirit summoner. How Lucy was able to find it in herself to forgive Lisanna and Juvia, even after what they did to her and her team (even if it was inadvertent), made the youngest Strauss sibling feel her guilt melt away and a sense of happiness wash over her.

"Lucy-san!" Juvia cried, streams of water escaping from her eyes as she cried. The rain outside had stopped, though the guild was beginning to flood as the levels of water slowly began to rise to everyone's ankles and higher. "Juvia doesn't... deserve a friend like... like Lucy-san."

"Gray, calm your crazy girlfriend down!" Macao shouted as the water that the hysterical sorceress was crying was starting to reach up to his knees. "I'm getting reminded too much of the many other times in the past when Juvia would flood the guild and it is _really_ not welcomed today."

"Dammit, didn't this happen just two weeks ago?!" Bisca growled through gritted teeth as one hand held onto the table near her as the water was starting to slowly push with the power of river rapids, while the over hand held onto Asuka as her daughter was sitting on her neck and back, making sure that her aforementioned daughter didn't fall off and into the stream of tears her guildmate was creating.

Gray pushed against the stream of water Juvia was creating uncontrollably, the Ice-Make mage eventually managing to grab hold of his girlfriend. Juvia stopped crying as she felt the familiar, cold touch of her beloved, the dark blue-haired man managing to calm down his girlfriend, the mass amount of water that she created with her tears disappearing like an unknown and unseen plug was pulled out of a drain. Though everything affected by the water was still soaked nevertheless. Juvia's tears were brought down to little sniffles before stopping completely. Lucy looked at her blue-haired friend, thinking tentatively before walking forward and laying a hand on Juvia's hand, the water user looking back at her blonde friend.

"Lucy-san..." Juvia said as she looked at her brown-eyed friend. "Juvia is so lucky to have a friend like you."

"We all are, Luce." Natsu said, appearing next to Lucy, agreeing with Juvia.

"I believe I also owe you an apology." Jellal said, the Heavenly Body mage speaking solemnly with a guilty face to boot.

"Guys, guys! It's all okay." Lucy said, almost feeling claustrophobic as apologetic friends were beginning to surround her like a circling school of sharks. Lucy waved her arms around, causing her friends to step back and allow her to breathe. Lucy walked towards Gajeel and Lily, the latter of which was floating in the air with his Aera magic. Lucy had to lean up a but as she wrapped an arm around Gajeel's neck, the Iron Dragon Slayer first looked at her with wide eyes of shock, a blush growing on his face before quickly fading away into nothing, a wide grin upon his face. "I forgive all of you, we're still friends. You know me, I can never hold a grudge even if I tried. I'm just moving onto a different, that is all. We can still hang out like he have in the past, I'll just be going on most of my missions with these two instead."

* * *

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled across the sky as endless bullets of rain poured down on the castle that worked as Dark Sect's headquarters. Inside the castle, Xan Phasomgear stood tall in front of his throne with his arms crossed behind his back and a very icy expression on his face; an imposing sight that was rather usual of the malevolent man. Evangeline Selivia, Xiraceal and William Etous stood before the man as he looked down at them, his red eyes looking like a glare with how stern he was looking at the three. Evangeline looked scared of Xan and was hiding it as best as she could, Xiraceal was nonchalant and William was impassive.

It didn't look out of the usual when he summoned them to an important announcement, except that a member was missing.

"Evangeline, Xiraceal, William." Xan said, his eyes squinting as he focussed his eyes on the three before him. Evangeline could feel an cold chill slither up and around her spine like a snake made of ice, however the other two remained unfazed. "I assume that you three are all wondering what I have summoned all three of you for."

"I-is it about Theodora?" Evangeline asked, her voice in a slight stutter under his eyes. It almost looked like he was going to attack and maybe even maim her.

Xiraceal and William had smirked, with the non-human creature of the two even letting out a little snort of amusement, towards Evangeline's terror towards Xan. The crimson-haired man in knight amour focussed his eyes on Evangeline, the red globular organs feeling like they were boring and burning two holes in her body that made their way to her soul. Evangeline's breath became stuck in her throat, the water-using mage almost fearing that Xan would strike her down. Instead, Xan ceased burning his eyes into Evangeline.

"Quite right, Evangeline. It _is_ about Theodora." Xan responded, closing his eyes and making a little nod, though he didn't smile. Nor did his icy expression really change. "Theodora's punishment, since I am feeling very merciful both today and when I laid it, is over today. As she is the only other member of the Malefic Square of Dark Sect, and the only one not present because of her punishment, Theodora has been forgiven for her nigh-unforgivable failure that is losing to a made of the light. Follow me."

Xan began walking out of his throne room, William, Xiraceal and a tentative Evangeline following after him. The headquarter of Dark Sect's interior was incredibly dark, unless if there was a flash of light because of lightning, the leader of the guild-like organization walking through the dark corridors with three of his Malefic Square following after him. The four passed by many dark mages that worked for the Dark Sect and Xan Phasomgear overall, most of the lesser dark mages bowing down as they passed by, though none of them acknowledged them, not even Evangeline. They were all weaklings beneath them, thus they were beneath any real consideration or care.

They continued to walk until they made it to the dungeon, stopping in front of the door of the cell that Theodora was locked in. Xan opened the metal door, opening to a dank and dirty cell where a woman with red hair and baby blue eyes was chained to the wall, looking down at the dirty, brick floor with a look of despondence on her face. Theodora looked up, smiling slightly as she saw Evangeline. Xan merely walked into the cell, taking no care towards Theodora's mood, tapping an armoured finger against one of the cuffs around the Lightning Magic user's wrist. Tiny runes on both of the cuffs and the chains connected to them began to glow with magic energy, the cuffs around the dark mage's wrists opening up and thus freeing them.

Theodora looked down at her wrist, red and sore. Theodora looked up, the redhead quickly running to her green-haired friend. "Evan." Theodora said as she hugged Evangeline.

"Dora." Evangeline said, hugging her friend back. Xiraceal smirked at the sight while William looked at both of them with disdain (especially Theodora), Xan just looked back towards the two female members of his usual eyes of icy impassiveness.

"Theodora." Xan said, attracting the attention of the lightning-using mage. Theodora turned around and bowed down in front of Xan in fearful respect, the pale woman shaking slightly. Evangeline, William and Xiraceal also bowed down slightly, lest they wish the possibility of incurring Xan's anger. The armoured man walked towards Theodora until he was in front of her bowing form, the red-haired woman fearing that he might start kicking her. "Theodora, even though you have been forgiven for your mistake, you still lost your guild. If you wish to recreate Wendigo Skull then you must remake it from scratch, like you did when you first created that Dark Guild. Understood?"

"Yes, Lord Xan, I understand clearly." Theodora said, looking up at her leader. "I will do everything I can to bring back Wendigo Skull, even if I must break into the Magic Council and bust all of my guild's past members out. I swear on it as a member of the Malefic Square of Dark Sect."

Xan grunted at Theodora. "If you break into the Magic Council and get caught, don't come back here if you manage to escape." The red-haired man said, walking past the dark mage in front of him. "Because even if you are a member of Malefic Square, forgiveness is not well welcomed in the Dark Sect. If you dare fail Dark Sect - dare fail _me_ \- again, don't come back here; I'll see to it that all that remains of you is a charred corpse."

"I understand, Lord Xan." Theodora said, rising up from her bow. Xan and the now complete members of Malefic Square then proceeded to leave the dungeon's of Dark Sect until they were back in the main hall. Theodora's body changed, her organic body and what remained of her clothes transforming into lightning before the bolt of electricity flew off to somewhere else in the castle-like structure, possibly to change her clothes. Xiraceal made a quiet, dark chuckle, the reason behind it being inexplicable as his body changed into a dark mist and disappeared. Evangeline was about to run off and check on her friend, but her body became rigid when she felt Lord Xan's presence behind her, the Water Magic user turning around to see that he was looking at her. Lord Xan wanted her for something.

"Evangeline, you are to take your guild, Siren Fin, to Sorrel Town." Xan said, his face still the stern frown that it seemingly always was. Xan's arms were crossed behind his back, the armour that he wore and the face that he made him look imposing towards Evangeline, not helped by the fact that he towered over her. "You are to search the nearby cavern and find the Fortitude Orb, and you are to do it in a few days' time. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir." Evangeline responded, giving Xan a salute before bowing down in front of him. Xan just made a humming sound, the man walking away back to his throne room in silence. Evangeline made a little growl, turning around to face William as he glared at her with icy eyes, something that was annoying and frustrating Evangeline throughout the entire time that she was being talked to by Xan.

"I honestly can't believe that Lord Xan wasted our time with the release of someone as useless as Theodora." William huffed haughtily, his snootiness only making Evangeline hate him more. The onyx-eyed woman could feel the waters of her magic surround her balled fists, almost tempting her to punch the purple-haired motherfucker in the face. She would actually enjoy crushing that nose of his, among a few other things. But it seemed as though William had also noticed the water surrounding Evangeline's fists, the weight surrounding and on her body increasing. Evangeline made the water disappear, William looked at her smugly as he made the surrounding weight around her body disappear. "Remember, Evangeline, I am much stronger than you are. I don't know why Lord Xan has entrusted you with retrieving the Fortitude Orb, but I shall not distrust his judgement."

The trench coat clad man turned around and walked away, his figure eventually disappearing into the darkness of Dark Sect's hallways. Evangeline scowled at the darkness, even if William was no longer there or could hear her. "Go rip your cock off and suck it until you die of blood loss." Evangeline growled.

* * *

Lucy was humming a happy tune to herself as she read her novel, sitting next to her was Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer chugging down a big mug of beer, and Lily, the panther-like Exceed was practically gorging himself on a large supply of kiwis. They were sitting at the dark corner of the guild that Gajeel and Lily usually sat at, after all if they were a team then they must sit together at the guild, at least that was a part of the guild's logic since they all saw themselves as family. And Lucy didn't mind the darkness too much, it wasn't dark enough for her to not read her books. And hey, she can finally read her novels in peace. That's a nice bonus of her new team.

Lucy peeked up from her novel, looking at her former teammates (though they still were and would always be best friends). Erza and Jellal were sitting at the guild's bar, both incredibly powerful mages were eating a pastry of some sort; Erza was of course eating a strawberry cheesecake while Jellal was eating blueberry crêpes, which were the Heavenly Body mage's version of strawberry cheesecakes with Erza. Lucy giggled to herself, those two truly were perfect for each other.

Lucy then began scanning around the guild again, her eyes focussing on the Ice Devil Slayer and the Water mage. Gray was of course stripped down to his boxers while Juvia was stripped down to her bra and panties, the two unsurprisingly unaware of their stripping. It was a bit of an old hat at this point, the two stripping down into near nudity. Though as long as neither of them were in the buff, there was no real problems or complaints. The couple were both earing a sandwich, Juvia had finished hers first and decided to lay her head down on Gray's chest, the ice-type mage smiling at her and wrapping an arm around her while he still held the sandwich with his other hand.

Lucy then looked for Natsu, the blonde spotting the Fire Dragon Slayer sleeping with his face lying down on its side on one of the tables, drool escaping from his mouth as he snored. Happy sat next to Natsu, the blue-furred Exceed gorging himself on fish like how Panther Lily was gorging on kiwis. Lisanna walked by Natsu, the Animal Soul mage holding a circular tray in one hand that held bottles and mugs. The white-haired mage giggled at her boyfriend, grabbing hold of a mug that had fire on top of it and putting it next to Natsu's head, though the pink-haired man remained asleep. Lisanna planted a kiss on Natsu's cheek, and even though he still refused to wake up, the Fire Dragon Slayer smiled.

Lucy giggled again, causing a bemused Gajeel to look at her. "What're you laughing about, Bunny?" The red-eyed Iron Dragon Slayer asked. "Somethin' funny in the novel you're reading?"

"No." Lucy responded, unable to remove the large smile on her face. "I'm just laughing at my old teammates."

Gajeel smirked, the black-haired man's face changing into a more genuine smile. "Hey, as long as it ain't hurtin' ya, I'm all okay with it." Gajeel said the man returning to his beer.

Lucy returned to her novel. For a few minutes, the guild wasn't its usual crazy and hectic self. Even though many male and female members were drinking an alcoholic drink and an occasional few were smoking from a pipe or cigarette, there was none of the usual brawls that resulted in a few injuries and a couple of broken tables and barstools and other stuff in the guild. But a few moments that weren't absolute chaos or bunch of friends beating each other up could still be a fun moment in Fairy Tail. It's just different kinds and sorts of fun for different kinds and sorts of people.

The doors to Makarov's office opened, the tiny old man walking out. "Team Iron Star, Heavenly Armoury, to my office." Makarov commanded, not quite shouting but you could still notice that he was serious. "Now."

The Wizard Saint re-entered his office, no doubt waiting for the two teams that he commanded for. Lucy reached into a bag that was sitting next to her, the blonde pulling out a blue bookmark with a picture of Happy's head at the top, the Exceed was obviously smiling. Lucy put the bookmark between the two pages of her open book, marking her place in her novel. Lucy closed the book, the top of her bookmark sticking out of it as she put her book back into her bag. Lucy stood up and slung the bag around her shoulders, Gajeel was already on his two feet and waiting for her with Lily flying next to him. Lucy smiled at the two males, the three of them really were a team, before Team Iron Star began walking up to the second floor of the guild to Makarov's office.

Erza and Jellal, the two members of Heavenly Armoury, were already in Makarov's office by the time Team Iron Star made it to the aforementioned office, the two S-Class mages standing upright and with a serious demeanour. Makarov sat behind his desk, it was almost comical seeing the tiny old man (though he could make himself gigantic if he used his magic) sitting at the desk with his arms crossed, surrounded by towering stacks of paper. Mest stood next to Makarov, the memory-manipulating mage mostly working as Makarov's right-hand man, his arms crossed behind his back as his face was in an impassive mask.

Makarov smiled at Lucy, Gajeel and Panther Lily as they entered his office, looking like a kindly old man (which wasn't too far from what Makarov was like). "I assume that you five are wondering why I called you up here." Makarov said, his voice sounding kindly but still retaining some of the seriousness within it. "I have recently gotten a special mission request for both of you. Since Team Natsu, our strongest team, has disbanded, both of your new teams have became the two new strongest teams of Fairy Tail, at least in the eye of the requester."

"I presume that this request is a dire one, Master." Jellal said.

"Indeed." Makarov replied, giving the Heavenly Body mage a little nod. "A town has recently had sightings of what they think is a Dark Guild at a cavern nearby to them. They are ultimately worried and have requested for two of Fairy Tails strongest teams, you two specifically. They are offering a tremendous money reward and really need your help."

"We'll do whatever we can to help them, Master." Erza said solemnly. "I can't believe that there are people out there that would dare to use magic for nefarious reasons, it makes me sick to my stomach. No matter what reward they are offering, I will see to that I will take down the Dark Guild for the village."

"I got a belly full of beer an' iron, and my two sons are getting antsy for some good ol' clobbering." Gajeel grinned, slamming his two fists together and letting out a slightly maniacal laugh. Lucy made a little snort at her Iron Dragon Slayer teammate; he was so similar to Natsu, except he can stop himself from causing mindless destruction until they reached whoever or whatever they need to beat up.

"Excellent!" Makarov exclaimed. "Your train should be arriving at the station in about forty minutes, so you should start going soon."

Lucy nodded. "And where will out train be taking us?" The blonde Celestial Spirit mage asked.

"Sorrel Town."

* * *

Lucy, Gajeel, Panther Lily, Erza and Jellal had sat at the train station, waiting for the transporting vehicle to arrive. Erza and Jellal looked at Gajeel in confusion. Gajeel is a Dragon Slayer who suffers from motion sickness, by all accounts he should be looking pale and more terrified than a child sitting outside of a dentist's office. And yet Gajeel didn't look perturbed in the slightest, instead he was leaning back with his arms crossed behind his head and his eyes closed like he was sleeping. This only caused the two S-Class mages to raise an eyebrow in confusion, don't Dragon Slayers find the motion sickness to be agonizingly painful, even ones as powerful as Laxus? Hell, they have even seen Gajeel looked like he was afraid for the sake of his life whenever it was put up that he would have to go on a moving vehicle.

Either Gajeel had some trick up his sleeve or he had came to accept his motion sickness. That or he is just hiding his worry and is probably freaking out on the inside.

The train finally arrived at the station, smoke blowing out of its chimney as it slowed down. The train's doors opened, many passengers coming off and many passengers coming on. The five Fairy Tail mages got up and got on the train, sitting down at a pair of seats, with Lily sitting on Lucy's lap. The steam train made a jerk, moving slowly before it gradually began to speed up and began moving at high speeds.

Gajeel snorted in amusement, not even feeling the slightest pain in his stomach nor even the slightest bit sick from the moving train, due to the Stillness Elixir's effects still working, Though with how long it has been since he had his last one (the first one), Gajeel should start considering drinking down his next Stillness Elixir unless he wants to find himself in absolute agony whilst on a vehicle. But Gajeel wasn't thinking about that as he was two amused by the sight in front of him.

"You know your face is gonna end up getting frozen like that if you keep it like that for too long. And I don't think you'll be intimidating anyone with those stupid faces." Gajeel said, grinning at the flabbergasted expressions on Erza's and Jellal's faces. Even Lucy and Panther Lily would admit that the faces the two tremendously powerful mages had were ridiculously funny. Basically, it was surprising that their jaws weren't falling off with how low they were hanging.

"I... I thought that you also suffered from motion sickness." Erza said, the crimson-haired Requip mage being the first to recuperate her senses. "Wait, no, I _know_ that you suffer from motion sickness. How are you not writhing in pain right now."

Gajeel began belly laughing, his muscular body rumbling slightly from his laughter. "Yeah, after the first mission that Bunny Girl and I took, we saved this guy with magical potions. After we saved him, the guy gave this elixir called a Stillness Elixir; it's this magical elixir that temporarily cures me of my motion sickness." Gajeel explained, the Iron Dragon Slayer soon belly laughing again. "This train ain't got nothing on me now."

"A Stillness Elixir..." Jellal repeated, almost looking deep in thought as he looked at the floor with his head resting on his knuckles. "It sounds interesting, I never knew that suck a potion exists."

"I heard a few legends about a magical elixir that can cure motion sickness, at least temporarily, from a few towns that I taken missions from, but I have never seen it for myself. I have just concluded the Stillness Elixir as nothing more than an old wives' tale." Erza said, the red-haired mage examining Gajeel as the Iron Dragon Slayer looked fine and dandy while he was on the moving train. "Are there any other pieces of information concerning the Stillness Elixir that you can tell us about?"

"The man that we saved and were given the Stillness Elixirs from said that its effects last longer than a week but less than two weeks." Panther Lily explained in a calm and monotonous voice, his little arms crossed over his little body and a stern expression his face. If it weren't for his tiny body and the fact that he was sitting on Lucy's legs, Panther Lily would have probably looked intimidating. "He was a potion seller and offered us each a free potion in his gratitude. Gajeel decided to take a Stillness Elixir because of his motion sickness, and Lucy and I decided to take one as well and give them to Gajeel because of the same reason. Gajeel is still on his first one, the other two are still at home when the first one's effects cease to last."

"What the cat said." Gajeel said, pointing his thumb at Lily.

"Do the other Dragon Slayers know?" Jellal asked.

"Nah. If Salamander knows about my little potion collection, he would start yelling at me and would never shut the fuck up about me givin' him one of the Stillness Elixirs and I ain't wasting one of _my_ Stillness Elixirs on that piece of fire shit. If he wants a potion that can help him with his motion sickness, he can get it his fucking self." Gajeel responded. "And I ain't telling the Lightning Fuck 'cause he kept on electrocuting me during my first few days at the guild, not to mention that he has been tryin' to beat me up 'cause Bunny Girl and I have been getting our rocks off together."

"And why haven't you told Wendy?" Erza asked, giving Gajeel a slight glare as the knight-like woman was very protective of the blue-haired Dragon Slayer.

"Because she never asked, duh." Gajeel responded, giving Erza a small shrug.

Erza grumbled at the Dragon Slayers nonchalance but decided to not go further, that was as good as any answer from Gajeel. "So Erza, Jellal, do you two have anything planned for the future?" Lucy asked, looking intrigued, wondering what the power couple was planning for each other. Erza's face suddenly started to become as red as her hair, the usually fierce woman suddenly rubbing her knees against each other in nervousness. Lucy's eyes had merely widened and lit up as she saw the great Titania's reaction, already knowing that the two were planning something for sure.

Jellal cleared his throat nervously and ran his hand through his hair as Lucy looked at him, the blonde knowing that Erza won't tell her what the two are planning. "Erza is planning on moving into my house." Jellal admitted, not at all confident in his explaining. "We were actually planning on this ever since we became a couple, but there were some problems like that Erza needed someone else to take place as head girl at Fairy Hills. And then there is all of Erza's armour and weapons, we have been trying to make my basement bigger so she'll have room to store them in."

"Oh my God, you two are moving in together?!" Lucy squealed in delight, almost like Mirajane in that regard, abruptly getting up and onto her feet, causing Panther Lily to tumble off her legs and onto the floor of the moving train. Panther Lily got back up onto his feet as Lucy grabbed hold of Erza and Jellal's hands. "That is so cute. Are you planning on telling the rest of the guild? Have you already told others? I must know."

"Y-you three are the only ones that k-know." Erza stammered in response, her face still red like a tomato. "We weren't p-planning on telling anyone u-until after I moved in. I was hoping on finding the right woman to take my place as head girl at Fairy Hills and announce everything after it was all done."

Lucy squealed in excitement, barely containing her excitement. Gajeel, however, looked at Lucy like she just went bloody insane. "I don't get what's so special about it all." Gajeel commented, causing Lucy to stiffen. The blonde slowly turned around, glaring at Gajeel, not that the burly man showed any signs of fearing it. "All it's about is Titania movin' into Oberon's house, it ain't fucking special. Hell, I don't remember there being any fucking parade when Gray and Juvia announced that they are officially living together."

"That was because Gray and Juvia were living together _before_ they became a couple." Lucy responded, still glaring at Gajeel before her face turned into a happy smile. "Erza and Jellal, however, have been a couple for months now, but they have still lived at their own apartments. However now Erza is moving into Jellal's house, in other words she is moving into her _boyfriend's_ house, which is a huge step in their relationship, that's why it's so special. Also that was a smart name there, I didn't take you for someone that understood good literature."

Gajeel snorted in amusement. "When two of the people that you hang out with are bookworms that blabber on about the stuff they read, you kinda pick up stuff like that." The Iron Dragon Slayer responded.

* * *

He kept on watching her with his large eyes, the small snow-white beauty talking to the Sky Dragon Slayer. Looking so adorable in her little dress, even with her constant indifference she was still a dazzling epitome of beauty. He wanted to find all the biggest, juiciest, yummiest fish in the world and give them to her on a silver platter. Except... she doesn't like fish. He didn't know what to give her outside of fish, because fish was always the best gift you could ever give someone. But she doesn't like fish, she would never like his gifts of the tasty creatures of the sea.

He was left with a conundrum, he just didn't know what to do. Maybe he would ask Natsu what to do, but he won't wake up, so he can't ask Natsu. He suddenly felt a prod against his little, furry back, the cat-like entity looking back to see his surrogate mum and her older sister next to her, both smiling down at him excitedly.

"Are you wondering how to get Carla's attention?" Mirajane asked teasingly, giving Happy a playful little wink, making a shade of red appear underneath his blue-furred cheeks. "Don't try to make it a secret that you have feelings for her, you were never subtle about it. Hell, according to Lucy, you weren't even subtle about it from the second you saw her."

"She doesn't like fish." Happy said, the Exceed looking at Carla as she spoke happily with Wendy before looking back at the two Take Over sisters.

"We know, Happy. Everyone knows that Carla doesn't like seafood, and everyone knows that she always rejects your attempts at wooing her." Lisanna said, stroking the little cat-like entity on the head, causing him to purr slightly from the petting. Being a cat-like entity meant that he was like a cat in many ways than just appearance. "Luckily, since Mira here is a matchmaker, and I am both a matchmaker in training and your surrogate mother, we'll help you attract Carla's love."

"Really?" Happy responded, looking up at the white-haired mages expectantly.

"Yes." Mirajane answered, leaning down towards Happy. The Satan Soul mage then gave Happy a playful little wink. "But most of the effort has to go towards you, after all you are the one that is meant to woo Carla. So first of all, what do girls love?"

"Fish, obviously." Happy answered.

Mirajane and Lisanna slapped their faces in annoyance towards the Exceed's answer. "Hey, Mira, give me another barrel!" Cana yelled, tossing an empty wooden barrel that was once full of wine over her shoulder. Mirajane walked into the guild's storage room to get another barrel, trusting in her younger sister for the task of helping Happy know what to give Carla.

"But remember, Happy, Carla doesn't like fish." Lisanna said. "In fact a lot of people don't like fish, and some that even do wouldn't think of seafood as a good romance gift."

"Really? 'Cause fish is the best." Happy responded with a sense of innocence in his voice.

"To you, but not to everyone else." Lisanna said. "Remember, what does Carla like? In fact, have you ever read any romance novels?"

"No, but Lucy keeps on reading them." Happy answered. "They're all so mushy and gross and boring. I don't know why you, Lucy and Levy love so much. Girls are so weird."

Lisanna exhaled through her nostrils, feeling a little insulted by what Happy said but had nevertheless repressed the slight anger she felt. Instead, Lisanna gave Happy a kindly smile. "Well some people like romance, Happy. And sometimes you could learn a thing or two from them, like how to catch a girl." Lisanna said. Mirajane came out of the guild's storage room, effortlessly holding a big barrel full of wine like it was nothing and handing it to Cana, who began chugging it down like nothing. "So what happens a lot in those novels?"

"Well, the guy gives the girl a rose in a lot of them." Happy answers.

"And how does the girl react?" Mirajane asked, her fingers crossed that Happy gets it right.

"She always likes it, for some reason, even though flowers always wither and die." Happy answered. The blue-furred Exceed's eyes suddenly widened as he realised something. "Wait, Carla likes roses. Carla really likes roses. Do you think that Carla will like it if I give her some roses?"

"Yes. Yes. Yes!" Mirajane responded, almost yelling with the last 'Yes', which caused the entire guild to look at her, confused. Mirajane covered her mouth with her hands, her guildmates just shrugged it off and went back to what they were doing, knowing that Mirajane was on another matchmaking attempt, this time it was seemingly with the help of her little sister. "Now you know what to give Carla."

"Where can I find some roses?" Happy asked, the Exceed jumping up into his little feet.

"There is a small flower shop along the south-east side of Magnolia, you can get some roses there." Lisanna said. And with that, Happy quickly grew some angelic wings with his Aria magic and flew away with the speeds of a bullet shot from a gun.

"I hope Happy is finally understanding what Carla likes and is trying to woo her the right way." Mirajane said as the guild doors shut.

"Me too." Lisanna concurred.

* * *

"We're here." Jellal said as the train they were riding on came to a stop at Sorrel's train station. The four powerful mages and flying Exceed exited the train, and though there were a few that entered through the train there were little that came out of it. The five Fairy Tail members were met by a woman in her early fifties, short autumn that reached halfway down her ears, dressed in a fancy green suit, wearing dark purple high heels. She had a long, black skirt and a golden pair of spectacles. The woman surrounded by four men in knightly armour.

"Hello, hello, you must be the Fairy Tail mages." The woman greeted, shaking hands with Jellal, Erza, Lily and Lucy. The woman tried to shake hands with Gajeel, but the man refused; luckily, she seemed to understand as she didn't become mad from Gajeel's refusal. "I am Claudia Trasselbrush, the mayor of Sorrel Town. As you should have already guessed, I am the one that has sent the request. If you would please come with me to my office, I can explain the mission in full."

Claudia turned around, the four knights surrounding her following after her. The Fairy Tail mages followed after, as they would need to come over to her office for her to explain the mission.

"By the way, this mission is not limited to only you five." Claudia said as they walked through the two, the short-haired woman looking back slightly towards the mages. "I have also requested the help of two mages from a guild that is owned by a friend of mine, I hope the addition of the two other mages isn't unpleasant."

"The more the merrier." Lucy responded, her arms crossed behind her back as she skipped after the woman and her knights.

"I believe that missions shared among mages in different guilds is a great idea." Erza said calmly, a smile on her face. "It can prove bonds between guilds, which can be useful if we ever come across another incident that requires multiple guilds to join together to resolve it."

"It would be nice to take missions with other guilds. Even if Fairy Tail is the strongest guild in Fiore, we shouldn't look down upon the other guilds." Jellal said, the blue-haired mage almost surprised that most of the townsfolk didn't spare him even a single glance, considering that for a few years he was quite possibly the most infamous man to live. "In the end, all legal guilds are a part of an alliance. It would even be nice to gain some friends from other guilds."

"If I am not prying too far, could I please know more about this other guild." Panther Lily said as he flew in front of Claudia, the ageing lady not being taken aback by the question or the fact that Lily was a flying, talking cat.

"Oh why of course, I can never say no to a cute kitty." The autumn-haired lady said as she continued walking through her town. "The other guild is called Imp Fang... they're not a Dark Guild, my friend was just not good at names. Anyways, it's a relatively new guild, and while it is nowhere close to being the new strongest guild in Fiore, it is still not one to be underestimated. The two mages aren't exceptionally powerful, but they sure are a tough bunch that can take down a good amount of mages. Ah, here we are."

Claudia, her knights and the five Fairy Tail mages entered the building, where they eventually made it to Claudia's office. Already standing in the office were two females; one had short hair of a light pink colour, a green skirt that reached down to her knees, a red shirt with long, puffy sleeves and had emerald eyes. The other woman had black hair that was pulled back into a long ponytail, tied together by a red bow, her eyes were a bright pink and she wore a blue jacket with a white shirt underneath, a short, blue skirt and had a red bow tied around her neck.

The first girl looked excited upon seeing the Fairy Tail mage, however the second girl just kept a stern and impassive expression, like they weren't even there.

"I know you." The girl with light pink hair said as she pointed at Erza, appearing in front of her. "You're Laki Connel, the Water Spirit mage, right?"

Erza was left nonplussed; not only did she get her incorrect, but it was more of an amalgam of the other female members of Fairy Tail then anything else. "I'm Erza Scarlet, I'm a Requip mage." Erza answered as she regained her wits. "And that isn't a real mage you just described, it was more of a combination of my friends."

"Oops, sorry, I make mix-ups like that all the time." The other female apologized. "My name is Andy."

"Adeline. Your name is Adeline, remember?" The other mage said as she walked up to her guildmate, giving her a mixed look of annoyance and concern, before looking at the Fairy Tail mages with a hint of a apologetic emotion in her eyes. "I apologise. Adeline here is my friend, and while she is a strong and skilled mage she has horrible memory problems."

"I see." Erza responded, seemingly understanding what was happening. "I am Erza Scarlet, the strongest woman of Fairy Tail."

"I know. Your reputation of Titania, Queen of the Fairies stretches far through all of Fiore." The black-haired woman said, keeping her calm and emotionless expression. She almost looked bored as she talked, but there was a sense of respect in her tone of voice. The pink-eyed woman then looked at the other Fairy Tail mages. "I also know of you four. There's Jellal Fernandes, former member of both the Magic Council and the Wizard Saints, now a member of Fairy Tail that is ranked as among its strongest and boyfriend of Erza. Gajeel Redfox, otherwise know as Black Steel Gajeel. Lucy Heartfilia, the Light of Fairy Tail and one of few Celestial Spirit mages that still exist in this modern era. I also know you as Panther Lily, the only being from Edolas that served both kingdoms."

"You sure have done your homework." Lily said as he lowered himself to the ground, his magical wings disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"When you are members of the strongest guild on the continent, the same guild being known for stopping many powerful dark guilds and saving countless lives, you are certain to become well known. Especially when the five of you are considered to be high up in your guild's pecking order." The woman explained. "My name is Sara, I use plant-based magics. The girl beside me is Adeline, she is a user of Earth Magic."

"Well it is nice to meet you two." Lucy said cheerfully, holding a hand out to shake it with Sara and Adeline. Sara had surprisingly blushed as Lucy smiled at her, the woman looking away shyly as she shook hands with the blonde. Gajeel picked off a certain and particular smell coming from Sara, the Iron Dragon Slayer having to resist the urge to growl at the blushing woman. And throughout all of this, no one had seen or noticed or sensed the shadow slithering around the room.

"I assume that you two are capable against a Dark Guild." Panther Lily said to the two Imp Fang mages, both females looking down at him.

"Wow, that cat can talk." Adeline exclaimed in excitement, fawning down at the panther-like entity.

"You saw him flyin' in, right?" Gajeel said to Adeline.

"That cat can fly?!" Adeline exclaimed in surprise, having totally forgotten that Panther Lily is an Exceed (thus meaning that him being able to talk and grow wings to fly were totally natural) and not a normal cat.

"Yes, we have even taken down a few Dark Guilds together, even though our entire guild has only been existing for a few months so far." Sara answered, speaking to Panther Lily like he is an equal. Though she did admit that he is apparently high in Fairy Tail's 'pecking order', so maybe that explains the sense of respect in her tone. "Though our master, Boris, has told us that we shouldn't become overconfident, as overconfidence can be used by your enemy to defeat you."

The shadow continued to sliver along the room. Jellal jerked his head around, swearing that he sensed another person's magic in the room. "Jellal, is something wrong?" Lucy asked, noticing her friend's sudden action.

"No, just thought I sensed something." Jellal responded, looking back at his fellow user of celestial-based magic and friend. "Might have been something or someone passing by."

"Can we stop it with these dumb how-do-you-dos and get on with the damn mission already?!" Gajeel yelled, getting impatient.

"Ah yes, that is quite a good idea." Claudia agreed, sitting down at her desk. Lucy, Gajeel, Jellal, Erza, Lily, Sara and a confused-looking Adeline looked at the autumn-haired woman. "You see, our town was built around an old cavern; this old cavern in particular has magical crystals that light up when people come nearby them and many legends and rumours about it having a mystical orb that is guarded by a one-eyed stone golem known as the Ruby Cyclops. I fear that the Dark Guild has been sighted around the caverns because they are planning on taking the mystical orb, known as the Fortitude Orb."

"Fortitude..." Sara repeated, almost like she was trying to think deeply about the supposed mystical orb.

"Courage in pain or adversity..." Erza murmured. The shadow watched the others slithered near to the door, prepared to run back to the cavern to warn its master.

"It is nevertheless a Dark Guild that is invading a part of your town's property, regardless of whenever or not they are trying to steal a mystical orb, they will be brought down to justice." Jellal said, earnest in his words and tone. "On my path to redemption, I have taken down many Dark Guilds, I can assure you that this Dark Guild will not succeed."

"Very good, lovely jubbly." Claudia said. "If you could get on with it right away, that would be very much appreciated."

The mages and Exceed nodded. The watching shadow had shivered before it left the room from under the door, moving at high speeds to the cavern where Evangeline and the rest of Siren Fin were finding the Fortitude Orb.

* * *

Evangeline and many dark mages covered in dark cloaks walked through the caverns, luminescent crystals lighting up as she or the cloaked mages came close. These cloaked mages were only half of her Dark Guild of Siren Fin, as the other half was guarding the entrances in case anyone tried to be a hero and stop the powerful Water Magic mage and her guild. The ground beneath suddenly started to shake like an earthquake was happening, though neither the ceiling of the cavern or the stalactites that hanged from the ceiling had fallen down. Cracks appeared on the ground in front of Evangeline and her mages, the cracked ground suddenly bursting upwards as a giant stone golem had burst out from beneath.

The golem was gigantic, big enough to hold a human adult in its hand, made of a white and smooth-looking rock and has a giant ruby in the centre of its face; the same ruby glowing a bright scarlet colour, most likely the magical source that was keeping the golem alive. Traces of moss surrounded the golem's body, though it didn't really do anything to slow the golem down.

"LEAVE THIS SACRED CAVERN AT ONCE, CHILDREN OF DARKNESS!" The Ruby Cyclops said, its voice and loud and booming whilst also sounding gravelly, which makes sense since it's a giant monster made of stone. "IF YOU DO NOT DISSAPEAR, I WILL PULVERIZE YOU!"

The Ruby Cyclops swung one of its giant and powerful arms made of stone down towards Evangeline and her dark mages, the green-haired Malefic Square mage managing to jump high into the air, avoiding the Rudy Cyclops' attack. Her lackeys, however, weren't so fortunate, as even though the arm didn't hit them, the powerful vibrations caused them to fly into the air and land on their backs. The Ruby Cyclops looked up towards Evangeline, the still mid-air mage facing an open palm towards the giant golem, a blue magic circle appearing in front of her. Scythe-like blades of water shot out of the magic circle, and even though they could usually cleave through stone like a hot knife through butter, they didn't leave even a single scratch as they collided and dispersed against the Ruby Cyclops' body.

The multiple cloaked mages that came into the cavern with Evangeline got back up and shot multiple magical attacks at the living stone golem; from rays of light of pure destruction, to spears made of elements, fireballs, orbs of darkness and various other projectile-based magical attacks. However the attacks were meaningless, as they didn't do any damage to the Ruby Cyclops, some of them had even bounced off of its stone body.

Evangeline casted her spell of scythe-like blades made of water again, trying to find a vulnerable spot of the giant one-eyed golem. The water blades were once again proven useless as she aim it at multiple parts of the stone giant, all meaningless against the golem. However, Evangeline started aiming the water blades at the ruby in the centre of the top half of the golem's, in which it had instantly covered the ruby with its arm.

Evangeline noticed this, a hum escaping from the onyx-eyed dark mage. "Hmm, interesting." She said as she landed back on her feet. The Ruby Cyclops uncovered its ruby eye, the stone glowing an even brighter scarlet colour than before. A red beam of pure, destructive energy was shot out of the ruby, straight towards Evangeline. The water-using mage made a cartwheel to the side, evading the laser sent towards her, the ground hit by the red beam being damaged by the same attack. Evangeline stopped her cartwheel and looked back at the Ruby Cyclops, only to see its giant, stone fist coming towards her. Evangeline's throat felt like it closed up as she saw the oncoming fist, her life flashing before her eyes. And she didn't even tell Theodora that she...

A giant fist made of shadows suddenly shot forward from the darkness of the cavern, hitting the Ruby Cyclops' fist and stopping it and pushing it back. The giant fist made of shadows then bounced towards the stone golem's other hand, pushing it back as well. The fist of shadows bounced off the hand that it pushed back and landing on the ground beside Evangeline, the fist dissipating to reveal a man.

He had pale skin, black hair and dark purple eyes. He wore a black tailcoat with black trousers, had a white shirt, plain black shoes with white socks and had a black choker with a black bowtie connected to it around his neck. The man bowed slightly with his right hand touching his left shoulder. "Lady Evangeline, we have some trouble coming our way." The man said.

"We have trouble right now, Dimitri!" Evangeline responded, the woman and Dimitri jumping out of the way as the Ruby Cyclops once again tried to crush and flatten them with its giant fists. "Help me with this bloody golem and then tell me the news."

"Exactly as you wish ma'am. Shadow Bound!" Dimitri responded, slamming a flat palm down on the ground. A dark magic circle appeared underneath one of the Ruby Cyclops' hands and forearm as it slammed it down on the ground. Multiple tentacle-like tendrils appeared from the magic circle, wrapping around the hand and forearm and holding them tight. The Ruby Cyclops tried to move its hand and arm from the tendrils that held it, however they were fruitless as they didn't even budge. "Ha, try as much as you want, it won't work. Anything caught up in my Shadow Bound spell has no chance of escaping."

The Ruby Cyclops looked at Dimitri as the shadow-using mage was keeping its arm stuck, the glowing ruby that was its eye began to glow even brighter as it prepared to blast Dimitri into a charred skeleton, however it was stopped as a powerful beam of water hit it in the ruby, the stone golem making a yell of pain as it covered its eye with its free hand. The Ruby Cyclops growled as it looked at Evangeline, the green-haired Water Magic user being the one to shoot the beam of water at its eye.

"Ha, I knew that was your weak spot." Evangeline said, the woman turning to the cloaked mages that were a part of the Dark Guild that she started and is in charge of. "Aim for the ruby, boys, it's the Ruby Cyclops' source of power and function."

If there was ever a moment where the Ruby Cyclops had a good reason to swear, now was certainly that time. The giant stone golem was too focussed on trying to protect its ruby eye - the magical jewel that keeps it alive - as the many cloaked mages that have joined the side of the wicked shot many spells towards it. The ancient protector growled in annoyance as it tried to free its arm from Dimitri's spell, but it still wouldn't budge.

"REALESE ME, PRACTITIONER OF SHADOWS, AND I WILL LET YOU ESCAPE WITH YOUR LIFE." The Ruby Cyclops said to Dimitri, however the Shadow mage just smirked at him.

"I will be escaping with my life anyways." Dimitri said, the purple-eyed man raising a hand towards the ruby in the centre of the golem's upper face. Dimitri's shadow enlarged, normal-sized fists made of shadows shot out from the dark mage's shadow, stretching seemingly endlessly and punching the golem in its ruby eye. The Ruby Cyclops roared in pain, its arm moving away and no longer protecting to ruby. Evangeline and her mages attacked the golem's ruby eye mercilessly, the gem beginning to crack from the overwhelming torrent of magical attacks before breaking into pieces.

The giant golem let out one last yell of pain before its body fell down, the pieces of its limbs and body disconnecting. "We have destroyed the Ruby Cyclops." One of the cloaked mages of Siren Fin said as Evangeline picked up one of the broken pieces of the ruby, the green-haired woman seemingly inspecting it. "The Fortitude Orb is as good as ours now."

"Not quite." Evangeline said, contradicting the mage. "This isn't any ordinary magic ruby, it will begin to repair over time. Not to mention that the Fortitude Orb is said to be well hidden and protected by a powerful magical seal, that's why a good amount of you can also dispel other magics, I will be needing you to undo the seal. Oh yes, and you said that we have trouble coming our way, didn't you, Dimitri?"

"Yes." Dimitri answered, bowing down slightly with his right arm touching his left shoulder. "Your suspicion about Sorrel's mayor hiring mages to stop us have been proven true."

"Oh really? I see." Evangeline responded, the water-type mage gesturing for the Siren Fin mages with Dispel magic to venture further into the cavern to find and dispel the seal around the Fortitude Orb. "And who may these mages be?"

"Two from the new guild, Imp Fang, they're Adeline and Sara, who use Earth Magic and Plant Magic respectively." Dimitri answered. "She also hired five from Fairy Tail. Titania Erza, Jellal Fernandes, Panther Lily, Black Steel Gajeel and Lucy Heartfilia."

Evangeline stiffened, slowly turning towards Dimitri. "Did you just say Lucy Heartfilia?" The guild master of Siren Fin said darkly to the Shadow Magic mage, stepping towards him with eyes that were windows to a fire of seething rage. "As in Lucy 'the Light of Fairy Tail' Heartfilia? As in the same mage that took down Wendigo Skull in one fell swoop and got Theodora in trouble with Lord Xan."

"Yes, Ma'am." Dimitri responded.

Evangeline was silent, so, so silent. Her eyes were otherwise emotionless and there wasn't even a single sound or movement that even hinted to breathing, like she was turned into a statue of herself. However if you look deeply into her eyes, you would see that fire of her anger. Dimitri was almost afraid that he should turn back into a shadow and escape before Evangeline goes on a bloody rampage. Evangeline exhaled and looked at the black-themed mage. "Order the mages that are guarding the entrance and the other areas of the cavern to kill all of them, except for Lucy." Evangeline said, her voice holding quiet fury. "I want you to bring that blonde _bitch_ straight to me, and I want to kill her with my own hands. I will never enjoy anything as much as strangling the life out of her. After you bring her to me, join the other Dispel mages with removing the seal around the Fortitude Orb."

"As you wish, Miss." Dimitri said calmly, no longer caring for Evangeline's rage since it was directed to someone else, especially someone that he doesn't care about in the slightest, giving her a bow.

Dimitri's body lowered into his shadow, the shadow going back to the entrance of the cavern to inform the guarding mages about their master's orders. Evangeline turned around, smiling enjoyment as she knew she was going to enjoy getting revenge on the same bitch that got Theodora in trouble.

* * *

 **Author's Note: In case if it wasn't obvious, a few days had passed between when Xan ordered Evangeline to get the Fortitude Orb and when Makarov sent Team Iron Star and Heavenly Armoury to Sorrel Village. How does Heavenly Armoury sound as a name for a team of Erza and Jellal? And what do you think of the nickname I decided for Gajeel to give to Jellal? It is kind of a reference to Erza's own title of Titania.**

 **Anyways, apologies for the lateness of this chapter, I'll try to explain it as clearly as I can. You see, I'm kind of a daft idiot who thinks it's a good idea to try out writing and posting a new one-shot for (mostly) each week. First there was my first Fairy Tail crackship fic that didn't centre around Lucy... and then there was a one-shot that isn't related to Fairy Tail at all and is centred around a more cannon couple in its series (if you can call a single movie a series).**

 **But that is beside the point. Things are advancing in the story of this, sorry that there is just story and no sex in this chapter, but sometimes it's more fun to make impatient people wait when you have absolute power. As always, reviews are welcome; maybe your review could end up influencing the story (though I wouldn't advise you to fully hold your breath, since I am in complete control of whatever happens here).**

 **Also, I would just like to let people know that I'm a male. Since someone in the reviews has thought I am a female, I guess I should make it clear that I am actually male (though if you've checked my profile and know what a bloke is, you should have already known this).**

 **Anyways, cheerio and tally-ho, onto the next chapter (when it comes).**


	9. Hydra Formation

The six mages and Exceed stopped in front of the cave entrance that led to the Sorrel Caverns, a giant oval on its side that looked like the toothless mouth of a hiding rock monster. Lucy held out two golden keys, a glow that was the same colour as the keys coming from the pieces of metal. "Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries. Open, Gate of the Crab, Cancer." Lucy said, summoning the two Celestial Spirits.

"Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry." Aries said shyly, the pink-haired spirit looking as shy as she sounded.

"Lucy, how would you like your hair done today?" Cancer said to his summoner, standing next to Lucy and snipping the air with his scissors. "Baby."

"Where did those two come from?" Adeline said in surprise, completely forgotten that the blonde key-using wizard was the one that summoned them to their world.

"Lucy summoned them." Sara reminded her extremely forgetful friend. "They're Celestial Spirits."

Lucy pulled out another golden key and pressed it against her chest, the golden glow coming from the key was also starting to come from her chest. "Star Dress: Capricorn." Lucy said as the light emitting from her chest began to surround and cover her body, like she was preforming a Requip. Lucy's clothes were changed to a black and purple sleek skirt with large slits on both of the sides, though it still covered her front and back. Lucy's hair was branded into two large bands of hair in the back with large black bows tied at the ends, two large horns like that of the goat constellation that the power is borrowed from. Lucy also had two long, white boots covering her feet and legs and two long, black detached sleeves covering her arms. The blonde also had a pair of black shades covering her brown eyes.

Gajeel's eyes had widened at the dress that Lucy wore, the Dragon Slayer almost drooling as the magical dress showed off the fine features of her body. Erza elbowed Gajeel in the side harshly, though this time the strength behind it was on purpose and not accidental. "Just because I am okay with your current friends with benefits relationship with Lucy doesn't mean that I'm okay with you ogling her." The red-haired mage whispered into Gajeel's ear.

"I sense a lot of magical energies inside the cavern, there must be a lot of dark mages in there." Jellal said, balls of light appearing in his hands. "She should be prepared for an ambush."

"A couple of dark mages are what makes the mission fun." Gajeel said, grinning as he began cracking his knuckles. "I can't wait to bash some faces in."

"Barbaric...!" Sara said quietly under her breath.

"We shouldn't waste our time any longer, if the Dark Guild gets to the mystic orb that is said to be in the caverns, who knows what will happen." Panther Lily said, transforming into his battle form, the Exceed also cracking his knuckles as he prepared for his inevitable battle with a few of the dark mages. Panther Lily unsheathed his Musica Sword, using the sword's magical abilities to make it grow bigger until it was as nearly as big as him. "If they attempt to ambush us, we'll have to retaliate against them."

The mages, Exceed and two Celestial Spirits entered the Sorrel Caverns, a giant cave with stalactites that hung from the ceiling and stood on the ground, reaching down or up, depending on where they were. They ventured through the caverns, the luminescent crystals continuing to glow and the stalactites not ceasing to appear. The mages stopped as they ventured further through the caverns that were thankfully like a gigantic tunnel, coming across a man in a black tailcoat with deep purple eyes. Gajeel turned his two forearms into iron poles, Erza Requipped into her Black Wing Armour and summoned a sword, Lucy entered a battle stance, Cancer pointed his scissors towards the man, Aries put her hands near each other and summoned a ball of pink wool the size of a football between them, Panther Lily aimed his sword towards the man, Jellal bent his legs as he prepared to cast his Meteor spell, Sara held plant seeds in her hands (most likely for a spell).

Adeline just blinked in innocent surprise and confusion.

"How do you do?" The man greeted in a condescending tone, making a spinning motion with one of his hands as he bowed down. The man looked up at the mages and Celestial Spirits looking at him, seeing them easily due to the abundance of glowing crystals. He merely smirked as most of them kept an angry face on him, knowing well enough that he is a dark mage, and he himself would never deny that he is a black wizard. "Dimitri's the name, but you can call me The Master of Shadows. Or you can call me The Overlord of Shadows. Though it won't really matter much to know my name, 'cause you'll all be dead soon."

"Do you really think you can kill us all by yourself?" Erza said as she stepped forward slightly, continuing to point her sword towards Dimitri.

"By myself? Ho, ho, no." Dimitri responded, laughing. "I know that I am a strong mage, in fact at the least I could probably kill one of you and permanently wound another before you defeat me, but even I know that my magic has its limits and quite frankly I don't have the strength to defeat magi that are comparable to a Wizard Saint in magical power."

"Then what makes you so certain that we will be dead soon?" Sara questioned.

"Because I'm not alone; because I have a battalion. Get 'em!" Dimitri yelled. Instantly, many cloaked mages appeared from behind the stalactites that were on the ground, many had magic coming out of their fingertips, though some were carrying weapons.

"Aries, Cancer, now!" Lucy yelled pointing towards the oncoming wizards.

"Wool Bomb." Aries yelled as she sent a massive stream of magical, pink wool towards the mages, the cloaked men and woman getting enveloped in the wool, becoming consumed in euphoric pleasure as the wool was infinitely more comfortable than anything else they had ever felt before.

Cancer was a red blur as he snipped and cut at the pink wool and the mages caught up in it, clumps of wool and cut mages and the tattered remains of their cloaks falling onto the ground as the crab spirit stopped. "My new pincers can get rid of nasty hair and nasty people." Cancer said. "Baby."

"Hmm, smart." Dimitri remarked. "Too bad there are still many more."

And Dimitri was right, there were indeed many more dark mages coming their way. Erza and Panther Lily both let out a battle cry as they ran forward and swung their swords at the oncoming members of Siren Fin, sending them flying, though many were still attacking, some with projectile spells. Jellal was a speeding, yellow blur that sent people flying as he used his Meteor spell, the blue-haired man careful to not accidently cause a cave in. Gajeel hit dark mages in rows with the extending iron poles that he turned his arms into, the black-haired man even letting out an Iron Dragon's Roar.

Lucy dodged the attacks sent towards her by dark mages and attacking them with powerful punches and kicks, her Capricorn Star Dress increasing her physical capabilities and giving her combat intuition.

The two members of Imp Fang weren't ones to hold back either; Adeline, despite her lack of brains, managed to recognise the Siren Fin members as bad people, the Earth Magic mage summoning pillars to shoot out of the ground beneath the cloaked mages and making stalactites from above fall down onto them (don't worry, though, none were impaled or killed). "Thorn Mine!" Sara yelled, throwing multiple seeds that glowed a green colour, the seeds quickly digging into the ground. Cloaked dark wizards of Siren Fin, armed with swords and battle-axes and scythes and whatnot, came running towards the black-haired mage. However, as soon as they stepped on the ground that the seeds dug into, thick, thorny vines came shooting out of the ground and entangled around them, leaving them unable to move.

Lucy blocked a punched aimed towards her by a big, burly man with her forearm. If it weren't for the physical empowerment given to her by her Star Dress, her forearm wouldn't have blocked the punch so effortlessly. Lucy gave the man a roundhouse kick, the surprise kick knocking him out. Lucy then saw a sapphire glow from the sides of her peripheral vision, the blonde looking to see that a cloaked mage had a magic stave aimed at her, the blue glow coming from the end as the cloaked mage prepared to blast her head off. Another cloaked mage appeared at the other's side, pushing the stave to make sure that it was no longer pointing at Lucy just before the stave shot out a powerful sphere projectile that greatly damaged the cave wall it collided with.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" The magic stave-wielding mage said to the other mage angrily. "I almost managed to blow the blonde's head off!"

"That's Lucy frickin' Heartfilia, numbskull!" The other mage yelled back. "Dimitri said that Lady Evangeline ordered that we can kill all of them except for Lucy Heartfilia, whom Lady Evangeline herself wants to kill for getting Theodora in trouble with Lord Xan. If you steal Lady Evangeline's kill, you'll have to take Lucy's place as her victim. Do want to be killed by Evangeline frickin' Selivia?!"

" _So this Evangeline and Theodora know each other?_ " Lucy thought as she looked at the two cloaked men, memories of the last time she saw the Wendigo Skull guild master before she turned into lightning and disappeared. Despite the fact that Theodora hadn't even thought twice about killing her and Gajeel, Lucy couldn't help but feel guilty that she got someone else in trouble. And then there was a fear that hid itself in the recesses in the back on her head that these two guild-controlling dark mages might be working for someone else.

Is someone planning (and possibly succeeding) in recreating the Balam Alliance?

Lucy had to put those thoughts to the back of her head, knowing she should remain focussed on defeating the mages, maybe she can just tell Gajeel, Erza, Jellal and Panther Lily. Lucy leaped forward and gave the two mages a punch to the gut at the same time, causing them to fall down unconscious. A giant shadow suddenly came over Lucy, the blonde looking back to see a giant hand made of shadows reaching out towards her. The Celestial Spirit mage didn't know what it was, but there was something about the giant hand that made her body freeze in fear, all she could do was flinch and cover her face with her arms.

Lucy suddenly heard Gajeel yell in front of her, the blonde moving her arms and opening her eyes to see Gajeel, the woman surprised to see Gajeel's body covered completely in jet black scales and the sclera seemingly covering the entirety of his eyes. However, despite the fact that they were both pure white, Lucy could see concern in Gajeel's eyes.

"You okay, Bunny?" The Iron Dragon Slayer asked in concern, coming close to Lucy. Despite her initial shock, Lucy wasn't afraid of this seemingly new appearance of Gajeel, so she didn't take even a single step back as he came closer.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Gajeel." Lucy responded earnestly. Now that Lucy thinks about it, Levy did mention that during the final day of the Grand Magic Games (when Lucy was technically prisoner to the Fiore nobles), Gajeel consumed Rogue's shadows and achieved a new mode. When Lucy became interested and asked Levy if she could describe it, she mentioned that he was covered in jet black scales and could use some of Rogue's Dragon Slayer Magic.

Gajeel glared at Dimitri, the mage that summoned the giant hand made of shadows and tried to kidnap Lucy, the purple-eyed man unconcerned by the daggers the Dragon Slayer was sending towards him. "Seemed like that so-called 'Overlord of Shadows' was tryin' to kidnap you."

"I think that he is, in a way." Lucy responded, focusing her magical energy into Aries and Cancer's keys, therefor giving the Celestial Spirits more power as the lamb pushed and stopped the mages with her magical wool and the crab cut at them with his scissors. "According to one of those two mages, their leader, who is called Evangeline, wants me to be taken to her so she can kill me herself."

Gajeel growled, looking back at Dimitri. Four spear-wielding mages came running at the pair, however Gajeel turned one of his arms into a sword-like blade and sent them flying. "Don't worry, Bunny, I won't let them take you anywhere." Gajeel said. "I'll protect ya."

Lucy smirked at Gajeel. "I don't need protecting, Gajeel." Lucy said, kicking and punching dark mages that came towards her and Gajeel with malicious intents.

Gajeel smirked back at Lucy. "You sure seemed like you did a minute ago." Gajeel retorted.

Lucy puffed up her cheeks in annoyance at Gajeel, though she guessed he _did_ have a point. Panther Lily's Musica Sword was three times the size of his body as he used it to take down multiple mages with one swing. Adeline made multiple rocks fly in the air and shot them towards the Siren Fin mages. Sara summoned multiple giant flowers with light blue and dark green petals, the plants shooting seed projectiles towards the dark mages. Jellal couldn't even be touched by the Siren Fin mages as he was almost too fast for the naked eye to follow, knocking away a seemingly endless array of mages with overwhelming physical attacks. Erza flew into the air with the wings given to her by her armour, pulling her sword back as she flew towards Dimitri with the intent to attack him.

"Dimitri!" The red-haired mage yelled as she flew towards him. The Shadow Magic mage snorted at her, rolling in his eyes in amusement.

"Dispel." Dimitri said as he faced a palm towards Erza. The Requip mage's sword and armour began to glow a golden light, like when Erza summons them, the sword and armour disappearing, leaving Erza in her regular clothes and without any weapons. Erza was surprised, not knowing what to do as Dimitri made her weapon disappear. Dimitri's shadow enlarged, turning into a giant, muscular arm and fist, that punched Erza, sending the S-Class mage flying away, the attack powerful by both nature, Erza's lack of armour and her overall surprise towards the purple-eyed man's Dispelling capabilities.

"Erza!" Jellal and Sara yelled in surprise.

Dimitri took advantage of the surprise towards his enemies, sending a horde of shadowy snakes towards Gajeel. The Dragon Slayer, however was quick to notice and react to the attack, though that didn't stop Dimitri from smirking. "Iron Shadow Dragon's Twin Blades!" Gajeel roared, his forearms transforming into jet-black blades, the Dragon Slayer spinning around and cutting the shadow snakes into pieces. Gajeel changed his right arm into a jet-black iron pole, prepared to hit Dimitri in his face, but the fucker was nowhere to be seen.

A chuckle that sounded like it came from Dimitri was heard. "Oh how foolish you were to think that that was the attack." Dimitri's voice said, coming from beneath Gajeel. The jet-black Dragon Slayer looked down, seeing Dimitri as he rose from his shadow and gave him an uppercut, sending Gajeel flying into the air. Dimitri faced a flat palm towards Gajeel, making the scales surrounding his body disappear. "You Dragon Slayers may be powerful, but a heart of darkness is stronger than a heart of light."

Lucy let out a yell as she sent a kick towards Dimitri, the man summoning many long, shadow arms to shield himself from the blonde's kick. Dimitri then made the fists connected to the shadow arms punch Lucy rapidly, causing her to fall on to her back.

"Lucy!" Aries and Cancer shouted in worry the two Celestial Spirits running towards Dimitri and their blonde master with the intention to attack the former and help the latter. Dimitri thinned his lips as he looked at the two entities from another dimension, the black-haired man trying something out as he rose his flat palm towards them. The two Zodiac spirits stopped, their eyes widening (well at least Aries' widened as it was impossible to see Cancer's eyes through his sunglasses) before they dissolved into bubbles of light, like their gates had been closed.

Dimitri laughed. "It even works on Celestial Spirits." The dark mage said, laughing at his feat. Lucy rose back to her feet, trying to punch Dimitri, only for him to dodge her and give her a swift and powerful kick to the back. Lucy made a yell of pain as she fell onto her front side, her Star Dress disappearing as Dimitri Dispelled it. "Even the greatest of spells are ultimately powerless if you negate them, that is why I specialize in not only Shadow Magic, but also Dispelling magic. The future of Dark Sect and Lord Xan's plans are secured as long as I live."

Dimitri picked Lucy up, something that got noticed by Erza and made the powerful mage very angry. "Let go of my friend right now!" Erza yelled as she summoned a sword, preparing to strike Dimitri. The black-themed man had only smirked, however, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a dagger, placing the blade in front of Lucy's neck. Erza came to a halt, the Requip mage knowing that Dimitri could easily cut Lucy's throat if he desired.

"There's a good Titania." Dimitri said, paper-flat arms that came up from his shadow crawled onto Lucy's body, wrapping tightly around her to stop the blonde from escaping, attacking or summoning any of her other Celestial Spirits. Gajeel ran towards Dimitri, swinging back an arm that was turned into a sword, preparing to hit the black-haired man with it. Dimitri had, however, saw Gajeel in his peripherals, using the rest of his shadow to cast a powerful shield to protect himself. Dimitri then proceeded to smirk at Gajeel. "When you see my parents in Inferno, tell 'em I said 'hi'."

Dimitri and Lucy were abruptly and quickly swallowed by the former's shadow, the shadow without a body running away deeper into Sorrel Caverns at high speeds. "Lucy!" Gajeel, Erza Jellal and Lily yelled in shock and worry. Without even a second thought, Gajeel immediately began running after the super quick shadow, though Erza and Lily could swear that they saw him seemingly go onto his all fours.

"Should we run after him?" Adeline asked, confused, seemingly forgetting about the dark mages surrounding and attacking her and the other mages of light.

"We'll have to take these black wizards down before we go after them." Erza said, using her Requip magic to change into her Heaven's Wheel Armour, summoning a large multitude of swords to surround and spin around her. "Gajeel is a strong mage, we must have faith in him to win. Right now we are facing against many mages that have chosen to use magic for nefarious reasons, we can't let them go scot-free for their crimes."

The other mages on Erza's side (including Adeline) all nodded in understanding and continued to defeat the attacking dark mages.

* * *

Evangeline was tapping her foot against the ground impatiently, the green-haired mage losing her patience as she waited for either for Dimitri to arrive with the blonde bitch so she can kill her or for her men to return with the Fortitude Orb. Even if she wanted both, she would be happy if one of them would just happen _now_.

The crystals continued to glow their luminescent light as Evangeline's presence was still close by, the woman aiming her onyx eyes up to the stalactites that hung from the cavern's ceiling, long and oddly-shaped like some deformed teeth. Evangeline pointed a hand towards one of the stalactites, shooting a powerful beam of water towards it, the hanging piece of rock breaking apart, the pieces falling to the ground and breaking into more pieces as they made a powerful impact against the ground.

Evangeline felt more relieved, she had a lot of frustration brought by her incredibly dwindling patience and she needed to release it. Luckily it was anger and pure hatred that Evangeline was planning on releasing on the Light of Fairy Tail for what she did to Theodora.

A shadow moved out from the darkness in the Sorrel Caverns, two humans appearing from the shadow. One was a black-haired and purple-eyed man wearing a black tailcoat and holding a dagger to the neck of the other person. The aforementioned other person was a blonde in a shirt and a short skirt, multiple paper-thin arms and hands made of shadows wrapped around her arms, legs and overall body, restricting her movements tremendously. The paper-thin arms receded back to the shadow that they came from, releasing the blonde from their restrictive grasp. Dimitri pushed the woman down to the ground, the woman letting out a grunt of pain as she didn't have much time to react with her returned movement before Dimitri had kicked her to the rocky surface.

"Here's the Light of Fairy Tail, Lady Evangeline." Dimitri said, his tone of voice much more respectful than any that he showed when speaking towards Lucy or the others, the man even gave Evangeline a respectful bow. Dimitri put the dagger back in his pocket, still keeping himself respectful to his master. "Shall I join the rest of the Dispelling mages, like you want?"

"Indeed, Dimitri." Evangeline responded, her hands becoming surrounded by spears of water that she summoned, looking down at Lucy with a sense of bloodlust.

Dimitri obeyed his master's command, disappearing back into his own shadow and moving past Evangeline and into the darkness deeper in the Caverns behind the woman. Evangeline didn't keep her eyes off of Lucy, the aforementioned brown-eyed woman almost surprised by the woman standing in front of her, looking down at the Celestial Spirit mage with utter contempt and hatred. The woman was admittedly beautiful, Lucy would probably rank her alongside Erza and Mirajane in beauty, with really long green hair and dazzling onyx eyes that almost reminded Lucy of Natsu, except that the woman's eyes were most hostile.

She had long, black, leather boots that reached up to her knees and long, black gloves that reached to her elbows (with fake, pink nails attached to the gloves). She wore a short, pink skirt with a black belt wrapped tight around it and a cyan-coloured tank top.

Lucy tried to get back up onto her feet, however the woman in front if her kicked her in the face, causing the blonde to fall down onto her side, a small trail of blood leaking out from the side of Lucy's nose from the kick. "Stay down, you worthless, blonde harlot!" The woman, Evangeline, hissed at Lucy. The blonde key-user looked up at Evangeline, the older, green-haired woman spitting down into the blonde's face. "I cannot believe you, you damn mage of light. Why must you light mages always ruin everything we do? It's because of _you_ that Theodora is now on the bad side of Lord Xan! You hurt my closest and oldest friend in many ways, and now you're trying to get _me_ in trouble by ruining everything! You will die here, your corpse will rot into a skeleton deep here in an old cavern."

Lucy quickly got up onto her feet, attempting to punch Evangeline. The dark guild master dodged the oncoming fist, giving Lucy a sharp blow to the side of her head. Lucy fell to her side, her elbow scraping against the hard rock of the ground, making a bleeding cut appear on it. Evangeline reached down for Lucy's keyring and yanked it off, keeping the key out of Lucy's grip.

"Won't be able to someone your little slaves now, won't you?" Evangeline said as she threw the keyring that held the Celestial Spirit keys away, making a clink as the keys hit against a stalagmite that was a sizeable distance away from Lucy. Evangeline kicked Lucy in the side of her stomach, making the blonde yelp in pain. Evangeline grabbed hold of Lucy's face, the fake nails of her gloves almost digging in past the skin, the green-haired woman still looking at Lucy with hatred. "I want to kill you all by myself, purely because of what you did to Theodora alone. Your friends, I don't care who kills them; I don't even care if they are killed. But you... I'll make your demise as slow and painful as possible. Your guild will learn to never again mess with the Dark Sect as I, Evangeline of the Malefic Square, snuffs you-."

Evangeline was cut off as she was kicked in the face by a foot covered with a black boot, the woman falling onto the ground and sent rolling across the cavern ground as the other foot of her attacked her gave her a swift and powerful kick to the stomach. Evangeline and Lucy looked up at the attacker, the former with eyes of fury and the latter with more thankful eyes. The attacker was Capricorn, the goat constellation spirit looking angry, even with the sunglasses covering his eyes, the spirit holding Lucy's keyring with a gloved hand.

"Capricorn!" Lucy said, looking as elated as she sounded when she rose to her feet and sprinted to him.

Capricorn handed the keyring over to his master, silent yet giving her a slight smile. "I made a solemn vow to your mother that I would protect you, Lady Lucy, and I plan to keep it. And as one of your Celestial Spirits, I am contracted to aid you whenever possible, especially when your life is in danger." Capricorn said, his voice smooth and suave as he spoke calmly to his master. The towering goat humanoid then turned to Evangeline, the green-haired mage having gotten back up onto her feet, the two glaring at each other, despite the sunglasses that Capricorn continued to wear. "You, however, are going to learn a lesson that you must never hurt, and especially never try to kill, Lady Lucy."

"It doesn't matter if you guys can summon yourselves or not, I'm still killing the Bimbo of Fairy Tail!" Evangeline shouted, facing a palm towards the Celestial Spirit mage and her goat spirit, a blue magic seal, much like the one that Juvia uses appearing in front of the flat palm before shooting a powerful beam of water at the two. Lucy and Capricorn jumped out of the way of the beam of water, the aforementioned beam destroying a stalagmite behind them and damaging a part of the cave wall. Lucy grabbed Taurus' key and held it high, the golden object glowing with Celestial Magic.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!" Lucy yelled as she summoned the muscular, cow-like entity into her dimension.

"Moo! I have came to protect your sexy body, Miss Lucy." Taurus said, looking at Lucy with big love hearts for eyes. However the bovine spirit's eyes turned back to normal as he saw the bleeding cut on Lucy's knee, the large spirit looking at Evangeline with extreme anger. He didn't even care that Evangeline had a body that he would absolutely jump at. "Hurting Miss Lucy and damaging her hot body is absolutely deplorable. You just _moo_ tivated me to teach you a big lesson."

Water surrounded Evangeline's feet, the water surrounding her in a circle. The water began to form behind the mage that summoned it, creating a giant monster made of water that looked like an eyeless Leviathan, the monster letting out a roar that sounded like it came from underneath water. "Rip those freaks back to their home dimension, leave the slut to me." Evangeline ordered of her water monster, stretching an arm out towards the two Celestial Spirits protecting Lucy. The Leviathan-like monster obeyed its creator/master's order, rushing towards Capricorn and Taurus at fast speeds.

"Moo!" Taurus yelled as he ran towards the monster, the cow-like entity jumping high into the air and slashing clean through the Leviathan, only for the entity to repair itself almost instantly due to being made of water. Capricorn jumped out of the way as the monster tried to eat him, the two animal-like Celestial Spirits evading and trying to destroy the seemingly indestructible Leviathan monster. Lucy bit her bottom lip in anticipation, knowing that she has no spirits that can use Ice Magic to freeze and break the monster. Maybe she should close their gates, it would save all of their energy.

Lucy narrowly avoided a blast of extremely scalding hot water that she saw in her peripherals, the water actually touching the side of her upper left arm, leaving a red mark. Lucy let out a sharp hiss of pain through her teeth, grabbing hold of the burnt red piece of her arm. Lucy looked at Evangeline, the green-haired woman glaring at her. Lucy growled, knowing that she had no other option outside of fighting the woman. Though she did insult Lucy's Celestial Spirits, so the blonde was definitely eager to hit the bitch.

Lucy reached into a small pouch that was connected to her belt, much like her keyring, pulling out the broken remains of a destroyed key. "Star Dress: Aquarius!" Lucy yelled, her clothes being changed and swapped with the Star Dress that she uses for the water bearer constellation. Evangeline had raised an eyebrow for a second before she began smirking. Lucy didn't care much for the woman's smirk, thrusting her arms towards the green-haired woman and shooting a beam of water at Evangeline, much like how she did to Capricorn and Lucy. Evangeline laughed, raising a finger and wagging it from side to side. The beam of water being sent towards Evangeline made a zig to the left, then a zig back to its old direction when it could no longer touch Evangeline, a zig to the right until it passed by Evangeline from behind and then zigged towards Lucy, hitting the blonde as she became nonplussed towards the odd behaviour of her own spell.

Evangeline laughed as Lucy let out a yell of pain, returning to smirking at Lucy. "I'm a master at Water Magic, you idiot. I can even control water that is conjured and controlled by other mages." Evangeline said. "I can most likely even control water that is brought forth by Juvia of the Great Sea. I believe that she is also a member of your two-bit guild, isn't she?"

Lucy growled at Evangeline. "Fairy Tail isn't a two-bit guild, don't you dare say that in front of me!" Lucy yelled, shooting another beam of water at the green-haired dark mage. "And Juvia is a far stronger Water mage then you will ever be!"

Evangeline huffed, once again effortlessly zigging the beam of water to her right with a single thought, though this time the beam kept on going until it hit the cavern wall. "I am a true master of water. Even if I can't transform into water like your fellow Fairy Whore, I can still control all water - with the exception of blood, sadly - with ease. Honestly, you think you can win just because you're part of the so-called strongest guild in Fiore; Dark Sect is something far more than any guild can ever become; you were just lucky against Theodora. Aqua Anchor!" The green-haired woman said, raising her right hand into the air, the gloved hand becoming surrounded by a sphere of water that turned into a giant anchor of water connected to a chain of the same element. Evangeline swung the Aqua Anchor towards Lucy, the blonde rolling out of the way as the anchor managed to break the ground it slammed against. "I am Evangeline Selivia, The Siren of Dread that Doesn't Sing, The Aqua Terror, The Queen of the Sea. And you will drown in my sea, Light of Fairy Tail!"

Lucy closed her eyes and dispelled her Aquarius Star Dress, ultimately knowing that she would have no chance at defeating Evangeline as long as she used the woman's own element. Lucy then grabbed hold of Scorpio's key, pouring her Celestial Magic into it. "Open, Gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio!" Lucy yelled, a glow of light appearing beside her, the glow of light creating a flash and a doorbell ring, the glow of light being replaced by a dark-skinned, shirtless constellation spirit. Lucy then pressed the golden key to her chest. "Star Dress: Scorpio!"

"Wicked!" Scorpio said as his summoner changed into her Star Dress of his constellation, making a rock star hand gesture of his index and little finger and thumb pointing out while his middle and ring finger pressed against his gloved palm. "Hey, Miss Lucy, let's show this woman what our sand is made of!"

"He's half-naked; they're not just her slaves, but they're also her sex slaves." Evangeline mumbled under her breath, unintimidated by the Celestial Spirit mage and the spirit that she summoned.

"Sand Buster!" Lucy and Scorpio yelled, the former slamming her hands together and firing sand out of her open palms in the form of a sand tornado, the latter on his hands and feet and firing his sand tornado from his metal stinger. Evangeline didn't move a muscle, standing still as she surrounded and protected herself with a dome of water.

* * *

It was her scent that he followed, using his eyes only to not crash into an rock, stalagmites or crystals. Finding her was all that was on his mind, he didn't even care nor take notice that he was running like a quadruped. He didn't care nor notice that iron scales were beginning to grow from beneath his skin, around his arms and around his eyes, his canines becoming even more elongated, and his hands completely changing like when he activated his Iron Dragon Scales spell.

He didn't notice at all, his mind more like a primal animal; searching for what is his.

These were the primal instincts of a dragon, one that even the most intelligent and civilized of them have deep down, no matter how much they would try to repress them. These primal instincts would be passed onto the Dragon Slayers, as their magic brings the aspects of dragons into them. And those instincts that were imbued in him recognised what was taken and what danger it was.

Those instincts of his... they would never let anything happen to her. He will not let that Evangeline or Dimitri kill what is theirs.

He stopped, almost in a skid; the iron scales around his hands protecting the prehensible organ and the boots he wore protecting his feet. There was another scent in the Cavern's air, it was hers... but there was a more metallic smell in it. He could smell... her blood! His inner dragon was roaring and snarling in anger and he continued to run at tenfold of his past speed; _they_ would dare to make her bleed! She was bleeding, they cut her flesh!

There was nothing that would stop him from releasing the fury of a dragon upon them.

* * *

Capricorn hastily jumped out of the way of the water monster as it tried to clamp its mighty jaws down on him and crush him back to the Celestial Spirit World, the same water monster crushing pieces of rock and a stalagmite between its teeth, the aforementioned teeth having powerful crushing power despite being made of water. Capricorn began to slowly run out of breath, the goat-like spirit almost beginning to sweat. He was not summoned out of the Celestial Spirit World by Lady Lucy; he was in Earth Land purely by his own power. Just staying outside of the Celestial Spirit World alone was draining him of his energy, and all of the physical effort that he was doing in dodging and leaping out of the Leviathan-like monster's way was even more draining.

Capricorn truly hasn't given Sir Leo enough accolades for keeping himself out of the Celestial Spirit World for multiple years.

"Hey, Capri, you look like you're reaching your limits. Moo!" Taurus said, recognising his fellow Zodiac Celestial Spirit's exhaustion, the muscular spirit swinging his giant axe at a stalagmite, sending its pieces flying towards the water monster, the aforementioned monster opening its watery mouth wide and swallowing the flying pieces sent towards it whole, though those pieces would have probably not damaged nor hurt it anyways. "You need to go back to the Spirit World, you can barely even stand."

"If I go back to the Celestial Spirit World, it would be easier for the water monster to attack you or Lady Lucy." Capricorn responded, the goat-like spirit ducking and rolling out of the way while Taurus jumped away as the Leviathan-like monster swung its large tail of water towards them. The Caverns shook as the water monster hit an area that kept it supported, rocks and stalactites falling from the ceiling and onto the water monster. Capricorn dropped to his knees, taking deep breaths, beginning to feel light-headed from the energy that he was using up.

Evangeline watched the two Celestial Spirits and the water monster that she conjured into existence from inside her water dome, completely protected by the two sand attacks being constantly used against her by the aforementioned dome. "Hmm, it seems that it is only using up valuable energy." Evangeline mumbled to herself, raising a hand towards the water monster from behind her dome. The monster let out a roar before its water body suddenly began to turn into regular water. "There, now I can focus more of my energy on disposing this star-summoning bitch."

"This woman is totally not wicked." Scorpio said, his arms crossed over his chest with his hands in their signature positions as he glowed a golden light before disappearing back into the Celestial Spirit World. Lucy deactivated her Star Dress, turning back to normal, the blonde feeling Capricorn's key glow and heat up as he closed his gate and returned to the same dimension. Taurus appeared next to Lucy, having a regretful and guilty expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lucy, but our time is up and I'm forced to va _moo_ se." Taurus said, dissolving into bubbles of light as he returned to his home dimension. Lucy's own breaths were coming shallow and her own head feeling a little light, she had already used up a lot of her magic by keeping the gates of two Zodiac Spirits open simultaneously, twice and not that far apart from each other, not to mention that she just used up two Star Dresses. The blonde was starting to get low on magical energy, and yet it seems like the woman that is trying to kill her still has some to spare.

"Ha, your slaves are abandoning you, even they know that you have no hope in this." Evangeline laughed, sending four Aqua Anchor's out from her water dome and commanding them to aim for Lucy. The blonde dodged the anchors by the skin of her teeth, grabbing hold of her Fleuve d'étoiles.

"They are not my slaves, they are my friends!" Lucy yelled angrily at Evangeline, the green-haired woman's seeming insistence that Lucy's Celestial Spirits were slaves making the blonde's stomach turn in disgust.

"Does it really look like I care?" Evangeline retorted.

With a yell, Lucy swung her Fleuve d'étoiles towards Evangeline, the celestial whip wrapping around the water dome that the onyx-eyed woman protected herself with, the magical whip proving to be useless, because no matter how much Lucy pulled, the Fleuve d'étoiles didn't do anything to the barrier protecting Evangeline. Lucy grabbed one of her golden keys, something that was noticed but not cared for by the woman she was fighting.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" Lucy commanded as she focussed her magic into the key in her hand.

"Princess." Virgo said in a monotone voice, her face was the same emotionless mask it usually was. "You have used up a lot of magic within the last ten minutes, if you keep this up then you might pass out."

"I... I don't care." Lucy said as she continued to attack Evangeline, this time she was trying to swing it at the woman, but her barrier made of water was still too strong for the celestial weapon to ever pass through or break. "If we don't take her down soon, I'll be dead. Besides, she insulted Fairy Tail, I won't stop until she's defeated."

Virgo was silent as she was quickly thinking what she has to do next, the maid's thoughts unreadable as she continued to display absolutely no emotion whatsoever. The pink-haired mage nodded. "As you wish, Princess." Virgo said respectfully, however the spirit was quickly kneeling down next to Lucy's side and touching one of her Celestial Spirit keys, the pink-haired woman saying something incomprehensible at speeds that were too fast for Lucy to understand. Virgo stood back up on both feet, her two hands folded in front of her before she disappeared into the ground, via her Diver Magic.

Horologium's key suddenly shined brightly, the light coming from the silver key engulfing Lucy. The Celestial Spirit mage closed her eyes as the light almost blinded her, the blonde opening her eyes to see the familiar inside of The Clock constellation spirit. "'What happened? Why am I suddenly in Horologium?' She asks in confusion." Horologium said. "I apologise, Lady Lucy, but Virgo had quickly informed me about what was happening and told me that I should guard you. Do not worry, I am here purely through my own power; your magical energy won't be drained any further."

Evangeline heard everything that was said from inside her water dome, squinting her eyes as she looked at the grandfather clock and the girl inside of it. "What does that maid think she's playing at?" Evangeline muttered to herself. The ground beneath Evangeline's leather boots began to break beneath her before the rubble shot up with a fist that socked the green-haired woman under the jaw, sending her flying into the air, the water dome that she used as a shield dispersing into tiny droplets.

Evangeline let out a yell at the sudden pain. She looked up at the cavern ceiling and the stalactites that hung from it, and Virgo suddenly appeared in front of her. Before the Water mage could hit Virgo with a spell, the pink-haired Celestial Spirit kicked her in her stomach, causing her to land harshly on her back. Evangeline growled angrily as she got back up onto her feet, Virgo landed in front of her, the maid keeping her impassive expression and folded hands in front of herself.

"My Princess is running low on magic, so I must stop you quickly." Virgo said, her stoic expression changing. Lucy had seen Virgo happy at times, Lucy had also seen Virgo sad at times, but that was usually the only emotions she ever saw on Virgo when the spirit was being poker faced. But this emotion wasn't happiness nor sadness, she was frowning and a fire was lighting up in her sapphire blue eyes. Virgo was determined, and she was going to defeat Evangeline before she would be sent back to the Celestial Spirit World. "We'll sort out your punishment later."

Evangeline scoffed at Virgo and rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, like a Celestial Spirit will ever be as strong as a human." The green-haired woman said, surrounding her hands in spheres. "And didn't you say that Lucy, the one that _summoned_ you into this world, is running low on magical energy? I'll admit that I don't know the best or the most about Celestial Spirit Magic, but I'm pretty sure that the Celestial Spirit's power is dependant on that of their summoner. Especially in the fact that they get more sluggish and tired when their summoner is low on magic."

"That is exactly why I must be quick." Virgo said before disappearing into the ground. Evangeline smirked, already having an idea about what Virgo might attempt, water surrounding her feet, a giant blob of water appearing and growing beneath her, elevating Evangeline to a great distance above the ground.

" _If she thinks she can just dig underground and attack me from beneath, she's dead wrong._ " Evangeline thought smugly, sitting down on the giant blob of water she summoned beneath her. Evangeline sat atop with her arms crossed over her chest smugly, her onyx eyes focussing on the grandfather clock and the tired blonde inside, on the verge of unconsciousness from the energy she was using up by keeping the Zodiac spirit in Earth Land. Evangeline made a snort of haughty amusement towards the feeble woman before her. " _That pink-haired spirit of hers will be caught and trapped in my Aqua Blob. She should just yield, it would make killing her much quicker and easier for both of us._ "

Evangeline could suddenly hear a drilling sound coming up the walls and coming from on top of the ceiling. Virgo shot out from the ceiling, the Celestial Spirit kicking the surprised green-haired woman in the face, causing her to drop off her Aqua Blob and landed harshly on the ground. Evangeline got back up, blood dripping from her nose from the attack the Celestial Spirit gave her.

Evangeline growled at Virgo as the pink-haired humanoid landed in front of her, the blue-eyed maid remaining silent, even though she kept her determined face. Evangeline moved a flat palm in front of herself, a blue magic circle appearing in front of her palm, scythe-like blades of water shooting out of the magic circle towards Virgo. The pupils of Virgo's eyes glowed red, the maid spirit running towards the water blades at higher speeds than most humans can compare to, swiftly dodging the scythe-like blades as she ran towards Evangeline. Evangeline let out a gasp of surprise as Virgo appeared before her, the aforementioned Celestial Spirit kicking her across her face.

A grunt of pain escaped from the green-haired woman as she hit the ground, her eyes and mouth open in shock. " _What is going on? How is she managing to defeat me?_ " Evangeline thought, almost fearfully. Virgo willed the chains connected to the cuffs around her wrists to wrap around Evangeline's own wrists. With a powerful pull, but not a single sound of effort, Virgo swung Evangeline into the air and slammed her down onto the ground.

Evangeline growled, grabbing the chains that were still wrapped around her wrists, yanking at them and leaving Virgo stumbling towards her, kicking the surprised Celestial Spirit in the chest. Evangeline socked Virgo under the jaw, the maid spirit giving Evangeline a right hook against the shoulder. Virgo willed her chains to unwrap from the water mage's wrists, kneeing her in the stomach. Evangeline spat out blood, the woman growling at the Celestial Spirit.

"You shouldn't be able to defeat me! You shouldn't even be able to land a finger on me; you're the weakling spirit of a weakling mage!" Evangeline yelled, hitting Virgo with a powerful beam of water at point-blank range, the Celestial Spirit unable to dodge such a powerful and large attack at such a close proximity. "Do you hear me?! I'm stronger than you! I'm superior to your summoner and thus superior to you. You shouldn't stand a chance against me! Do you hear me? Not. A. Single. Chance!"

Virgo, now drenched by the water that she was hit with, got back onto her feet, using her chains as whips against Evangeline. The dark mage growled as she used her arms to protect herself from the Celestial Spirits chains, the guild master of Siren Fin protecting herself with another Water Barrier. Virgo stopped using her chains as whips against Evangeline as all they were doing was making ripples in her Water Barrier. The pink-haired maiden went on her knees and slammed her palms down on the ground.

"Spica Rupture!" Virgo yelled as she put her magic into the ground, causing rocks to burst upwards from beneath Evangeline, inside her dome of water, hitting the dark mage.

Evangeline was flung into the air by the rock attack, the woman wailing in pain as her body spun in the air, before finally landing on her back. Evangeline sat up, seeing Virgo running towards her with one of her arms pulled back with her hands in the shape of a fist. Evangeline couldn't think as the maiden ran towards her, the woman flinching, expectant of the pain she would feel across her face. However, Evangeline didn't feel even a single touch. Tentatively, Evangeline slid one of her eyes open, seeing Virgo standing right in front of her, her fist outstretched towards Evangeline's face. In fact, the maid spirit's fist was only a few inches away from her face.

Virgo was frozen, obviously trying to move to finish her attack against Evangeline. Virgo's body began to glow a golden light, the pink-haired woman disappearing in a glow of light. Evangeline blinked at what happened in confusion, a wide smirk growing and stretching across her face as she realised what happened.

Evangeline looked at Horologium, the grandfather clock-like spirit disappearing in a puff of smoke, causing Lucy's limp body to flop to the ground like a ragdoll. Evangeline got back on her feet and walked towards Lucy arrogantly, a smug and malicious smirk plastered on her face. Lucy had stayed limp on the ground, one of her eyes was closed and the other was only open halfway; and even then she was constantly blinking to keep the eye open. And despite how little of Lucy's eyes that she could see, Evangeline could tell that the Celestial Spirit mage's eyes had lost their light and that she was completely depleted of energy. She was in a state that was so sad that Evangeline would probably feel sorry for her. But this bitch had hurt Theodora and gotten her hurt even further by Lord Xan, Evangeline doubted that she could or would ever feel empathy or sympathy towards this blonde wench.

"Look at yourself now, Lucy Heartfilia." Evangeline said, walking towards the aforementioned blonde mage. "Thought you could beat me, huh? You were lucky against Theodora, you can't hold a candle against her. Oh how I'm sure that Dora will be happy to know that I, her closest and oldest friend, had killed the blonde bimbo that got her in trouble."

Lucy made a low humming sound, like she was trying to say something, but didn't have the strength to day something. Lucy's lips then opened slightly, a whistle of air blowing out of the robust woman's mouth. Evangeline noticed this, the woman stopping as she was in front of Lucy. The green-haired woman bent down, picking Lucy up by her long blonde hair, the star summoner too exhausted to scream in pain from the feeling that is akin to her scalp being ripped off.

"Don't... hurt them..." The exhausted Lucy mumbled, taking low, deep breaths. "My... keys. They mean... so much to me. Don't hurt... them... you can take... my life... but don't do anything... to my spirits."

Evangeline snorted in amusement, letting go of Lucy's hair, causing the blonde to fall against the hard ground. "My, my, you must really care for your slaves." Evangeline said, kicking Lucy in the stomach, causing the blonde to roll across the hard cavern grounds. "It's a shame that someone as sexy as yourself has to die, but you can blame yourself and the choices you made for that. I won't do anything to your spirits, what happens to them is up to the people that find what remains of your corpse. If they can even find you."

Evangeline walked towards Lucy, smirking and admiring both the red mark on Lucy's upper left arm, brought by Evangeline scalding, and the scrape with dry blood on Lucy's right elbow. Those would be just the first of the injuries that she would bring upon this blonde bitch. Evangeline stopped as she heard no sounds coming from Lucy, the woman putting her foot underneath the limp blonde before pushing it up, turning Lucy around. The Celestial Spirit mage's eyes were closed and she was clearly not conscious, however her chest was still rising and falling and Evangeline could hear faint breathing sounds coming from her.

Evangeline was actually happy that the blonde was still alive, she wanted her death to be more brutal and painful.

"No water, scalding hot water will wake her up in no time." Evangeline said, putting one of her hands on her hips and having the other face flat up towards the Sorrel Cavern's ceiling, a large sphere of hot water that could burn someone with immense intensity appearing and floating above the palm. The Siren Fin guild master was just about ready to pour it over Lucy, where it will hopefully wake her up so she can suffer more, however she heard the sound of something approaching, approaching at high speeds. Evangeline quickly turned around, sending one of her scalding spheres towards the darkness of the Caverns. The approaching sounds had been stopped, Evangeline was almost certain that she hit the creature and was ready to turn around and finish her personal business with Lucy.

But then she saw them, two red eyes without a body that looked at her from the darkness; the feral look of a savage animal living inside those eyes. Evangeline couldn't turn her body around, she was almost paralyzed in her fear. Evangeline stepped back, the heel of her boot pressing down on a part of the unconscious Lucy. An angry growl came from the unknown creature hiding in the darkness, the violent anger in its red slits increasing as the heel made contact with the blonde. Evangeline looked back, seeing the heel of her black boot pressing down on one of Lucy's arms. Evangeline's breath was caught in her throat, she was realising that whatever it was that was mad at her, it was violently angry because of what she did to Lucy.

The unknown creature let out a roar, running towards Evangeline at high speeds. The green-haired woman screamed in fear, running out of the way. Evangeline made a quick run to one of the stalagmites, gripping it as her heart was racing at high speeds in uncontrollable fear. As Evangeline gripped the stalagmite with one hand, the other was on her chest. Evangeline looked back at the Whore of Fairy Tail and the unknown creature, horrified of what she saw.

It was Gajeel 'Black Steel' Redfox, kneeling down with one arm wrapped around the blonde bimbo's body and looking at her with a look of worry in his eyes. This usually wouldn't scare Evangeline, she would even go on to attack the Dragon Slayer and the key user in his arms. Except he looked different, his canines were slightly more elongated, iron scales had grown beneath the skin underneath the upper side of his face, his eyes looking like they weren't even human and more like that of a reptile, the iron scales had ran along the sides of his arms and his hands looked like they were already covered in iron scales and were about to turn into claws.

Gajeel turned his head towards Evangeline, his lips curling as he growled and snarled at her like a rabid beast.

Evangeline couldn't move, the woman feeling an overwhelming sensation of a massive dragon with iron scales and protruding iron horns towering above her, its large mouth - large enough to swallow her whole - wide open and ready to shoot a powerful tornado of sharp metal shards that'll dice her in seconds. A whimper of pain escaped from Lucy's lips, causing Gajeel to stop growling and look back at the blonde worriedly. The Iron Dragon Slayer's hands turned back to normal, the scales disappearing underneath his skin, his canines becoming less elongated and his eyes becoming more human.

"Bunny, are you okay?" Gajeel asked as softly as his gruff voice would allow, holding the blonde carefully in his arms.

Lucy made a little moan as she opened her eyes, blinking as she found the world to be blurry, her vision clearing to see Gajeel looking down at her in concern, his red eyes almost shining from the glowing of the crystals. "Gajeel...?" Lucy mumbled, quickly recollecting what happened and why she is here.

"Don't worry, Bunny, I promised ya that I'll protect ya and I'll live by it." Gajeel said. The Dragon Slayer looked at the scald mark on Lucy's forearm and the cut along her elbow that was protected by a fresh scab, a growl escaping from him as he knew that the evil bitch behind him did this to _his_ bunny. Gajeel's eyes widened, the black-haired man shaking his head from side to side rapidly to get such a preposterous thought out of his head; he wasn't going to fall in love. Gajeel glared back at Evangeline, holding Lucy protectively in his arms, bridal style, the Iron Dragon Slayer turning around to properly face Evangeline as he held his teammate in his arms, his red eyes keeping focussed on the green-haired bitch. "Lady, you're in a world of pain for hurtin' Bunny Girl."

Evangeline regained her wits, surrounding her hands in spheres of water, shooting beams of the same element towards Gajeel and Lucy. Gajeel jumped out of the way, still holding tightly onto Lucy. Gajeel then quickly aimed a foot towards Evangeline, transforming it into a iron pole that stretched towards her at fast speeds. Evangeline shifted out of the way of the iron pole, slamming her gloved hands together, protecting herself once again in a dome of water.

"You are quite the troublesome Dragon Slayer, you know. And the blonde bitch that I want to kill for getting my close friend in danger is still alive, with you protecting her, even." Evangeline said from inside her Water Barrier. "I'll get rid of both of you for good, for my good, with the strongest spell in my arsenal. Luckily, this Water Barrier is required for my strongest spell. Hydra Formation!"

Evangeline put one of her palms flat in front of herself, slamming the fist of her other hand down on the flat palm with the exception of her index and middle finger. Ripples began to appear inexplicably on the Water Barrier protecting the green-haired mage, seven dragon-like heads with really long necks, completely made of water, came form the water dome. The hydra heads roared, Evangeline smirked at the two Fairy Tail mages in front of her. Lucy was scared, her low energy affecting her mood. Gajeel, however, didn't look scared in the slightest, glaring back at the water dragons.

One of the hydra heads dove towards Gajeel and Lucy, its neck made of water stretching with seemingly no limit as it came towards them at fast speeds. Keeping his tight grip on the blonde in his arms, Gajeel ran out of the way as the hydra tried to clamp it jaws down on them, the woman in control of the hydras smirking arrogantly. Gajeel growled, turning one of his arms into a long and powerful blade, swinging it down towards Evangeline, his anger growing as the Water Barrier continuing to surround the woman had protected her perfectly from his attack. Gajeel jumped into the air, tightening his hold on the tired blonde in his arms as his body spun around vertically, landing down on his feet perfectly, due to a long history of landing from high heights.

"Ga...jeel…" Lucy mumbled weakly as the Iron Dragon Slayer continued to run and jump out of the way of the constant hydra heads. Gajeel looked down at Lucy, whilst trying to also look out for the hydra heads and rocks, trying to stop himself from growling from right down in his core as he saw the tears coming from her brown eyes.

"It's okay, Bunny, I can handle this." Gajeel said, pushing Lucy's face against his chest. Gajeel bounded along the ground and off the walls as he avoid the persistent hydra heads that were trying to hurt him and his close friend, the Dragon Slayer skidding to a stop and turning around to face towards Evangeline, the dark mage smirking as her Water Barrier and the seven water hydras continued to surround her, breathing in as much air and magical particles as he could. "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

Evangeline shook her head from side to side, tutting as the metal shards that Gajeel sent towards her kept on bouncing off of her protective dome. "Try as much as you wish, my Hydra Formation will end with you turning the water red." The green-haired woman mocked. "My waters can cut and burst through steel, you're fighting an uphill battle."

"Clearly you've never tried your water against a dragon's iron, Lady." Gajeel said, turning his hand into a lance and firing multiple iron lances towards the hydra heads as four of them began diving towards him and Lucy. The spears managed to rip the dragon-like heads, but they would quickly repair themselves, though the spears still managed to slow them down at least slightly. Gajeel rolled out of the way, the Dragon Slayer using his arms to protect Lucy from the ground that they rolled against. Gajeel was quickly back on his feet, barely even allowed to take a breath as two more of the dragon heads were trying to eat him and Lucy and ripping them apart. Gajeel had to somersault out of the way, the Dragon Slayer quickly running away and hiding behind a stalagmite as soon as he landed on his feet.

Gajeel's back was against the stalagmite as he took deep breaths, trying to regain air as he had little time to breath whilst he was trying to dodge the Hydra Formation. Gajeel hated that he was having to run away and hide from this dark guild bitch; it made him feel like a damn, dirty coward, and he hated feeling like a damn, dirty coward! However he really needed to regain his air and calm his damn heart down, besides there was very little chance that the Hydra Formation could hurt him without hurting Lucy, and she looked like she was in a very bad condition to get hurt in.

And Gajeel can no longer bear the thought of Lucy getting hurt... God, how he hates and regrets the man he used to be back in Phantom Lord.

"Gajeel..." Lucy whispered, reaching up to touch the side of the man's face. Gajeel looked at Lucy's arm, shaking as she held it up weakly, her eyes looking like the life was taken out of it from her rapid use of her magic. She was far from the risk of Magic Deficiency Disease, but the magic that she used up is still enough to leave her in an exhausted state. And yet she was still one of Fairy Tail's more level-headed members. "Just leave me... here and... run. You can't... beat her... while also protecting... me. Get Erza or... Jellal... they should... be able to defeat her."

"No way in Hell, Bunny...!" Gajeel said. "I ain't leaving you here for this bitch to kill you, I'm stayin' here until I get her back for what she did to you."

"But what... can you..." Lucy breathed. An idea struck Gajeel's head, the black-haired man gently placing the blonde in his arms down onto the ground, careful because of her weak condition. "Gajeel...?"

"Sorry, Bun, but I don't think you will be comfortable in my arms with these around me. Iron Dragon's Scales." Gajeel responded, a magic circle appearing beneath him as his body became covered by iron scales that, if his plan works out the way he wanted it to, will help him finally beat this water-controlling bitch. Gajeel bent down, trying to pat Lucy as gently as he could on this head with his immense strength and the tough iron scales covering his body. "Just stay here and be safe while I beat this Evangeline woman."

Gajeel peeked from behind the stalagmite, looking out for the Evangeline bitch, checking to see that she or her hydra heads weren't looking; he can't risk her finding where Bunny Girl was hiding and kill his blonde teammate. Luckily, Evangeline and her hydra heads were looking away from the stalagmite that the two Fairy Tail mages were hiding behind, and from what Gajeel could see from the movements of her head, she was looking for them. Gajeel couldn't help but smirk, he has a perfect opportunity to attack her by surprise.

Gajeel jumped out from behind the stalagmite, the Iron Dragon Slayer running a distance away from the stalagmite to ensure that Evangeline won't find Lucy. When Gajeel was sure that he was far enough from Lucy, he began running towards Evangeline.

Evangeline searched the area of the caverns, looking for Black Steel and the Bimbo of Fairy Tail. She then heard the sound of running from somewhere to her side, from outside her Water Barrier, the green-haired woman looking to see Gajeel running towards her, covered in iron scales. Evangeline was scared for a second, remembering that image of what Gajeel looked like only a few minutes ago, however that fear went away as she realised that, unlike the iron scales that covered him from earlier, these were more like an armour that was put around him. Not iron scales that grew beneath the skin and flesh.

Evangeline focussed on Gajeel, commanding the hydras to attack him. "That barrier of yours ain't gonna protect ya forever!" Gajeel yelled, transforming his left forearm into a giant and powerful sword, slashing away at the hydra heads as they tried to eat him, usually cutting them by the mouth. Gajeel grinned like a mad maniac as he got close to Evangeline, the woman not looking even slightly worried as she was so sure that she was secured in her water dome. Gajeel swung the large sword that he turned his forearm into down on Evangeline's Water Barrier, the powerful blade sinking slightly into the dome before being pushed back above the dome's surface.

A smug, wide grin appeared on Evangeline's face, honestly making her face a _lot_ more punchable towards Gajeel. "Ha! Thought that could work against me, didn't you, you cocky Dragon Slayer. My Water Barrier can take brutal punishment and stand strong. Now, my hydras will eat you up. And then they'll eat that blonde bitch up." Evangeline sneered at Gajeel, silently commanding two of her dragon-like heads to bite down on Gajeel. The Dragon Slayer rolled out of the way, trying to think of another attack that could break past the barrier. He can't use Karma Demon: Iron God Sword, 'cause even though it will definitely break past the barrier and hit Evangeline, it would also cause a cave in that would most likely kill Gajeel, Evangeline and Lucy. Gajeel duck and cartwheeled, trying to stay close to the green-haired woman so she was still in his range. An idea came to his head, sure it was a longshot, but he had little other choices. Gajeel stood in front of Evangeline's Water Barrier, pulling his arm back. Evangeline merely snickered. "I already told you that you can't-"

"Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!" Gajeel yelled, slamming his fist against the powerful dome of water. A ripple came on the barrier from where the fist hit, before the dome had burst open. Evangeline had gasped in surprise, nonplussed that Gajeel could actually break her barrier. Gajeel was quick to move, quickly moving a foot to her abdomen to kick her. "Iron Dragon's Hard Foot!"

Evangeline made a sharp yell of pain as she was sent flying across the cavern area, her Hydra Formation spell becoming undone. Evangeline made a gruff grunt of pain as her back hit against the ground forcefully, the woman instantly sitting up to look at Gajeel, still trying to fathom what the Dragon Slayer managed to do.

"How did you... How?" Evangeline said to Gajeel, the iron scales-covered Dragon Slayer walking towards her. Gajeel made a yell of effort as he turned on of his arms into an iron pole, the long-haired man sending the pole towards Evangeline. The guild master flinched and covered herself with her arms in an attempt to protect herself. Even though her eyes were closed, Evangeline knew that the area around her darkened. She heard the sound of metal slamming against something, the sound being muffled slightly. Evangeline opened her eyes, seeing that she was now in a dark dome-like sphere. Evangeline smirked, knowing exactly what had happened.

Gajeel looked at the sight in front of him in surprise, the iron pole that he sent towards Evangeline being blocked by a dome of paper-thin shadow arms, the paper-thin arms being somehow strong enough to block his attacks, even when his offensive power has been enhanced by the Iron Dragon's Scales. The paper-thin arms receded back onto Evangeline's shadow, an extra shadow appearing from the guild master's. Dimitri appeared from the second shadow, wrapping one of his arms across his body and bowing down towards Evangeline respectfully.

"Lady Evangeline, we have successfully Dispelled the barrier and now have the Fortitude Orb." The shadow manipulator said, reaching into his tailcoat and pulling out an orange orb that was small enough to just about fit in his hand, the shines of the crystals that surrounded the two mages reflecting off of the orb. Gajeel felt his heart clench, his body refusing to move as he looked at the black-themed mage and the ancient orb he held; it felt like, for the first time in a long time, Gajeel had failed a mission. Of course he could still stop them if he acts now and acts fast, but his body just didn't seem to move. "Shall we leave, or shall we finish off the dragon spawn?"

"Finish him off, we'll make sure that Lucy Heartfilia suffers the same fate when we find her." Evangeline said, creating a scythe made of water that can cut clean through flesh and bone, despite the blade being made purely of water. The green-haired woman grinned towards Gajeel, while Dimitri smiled at him sinisterly. Gajeel turned both of his forearms into iron poles, if he had to beat the shit out of these two fuckers then he was more than willing to do.

Dimitri's sinister grin became more smug as he raised a hand towards the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Shadow Bound." Dimitri said, a dark magic circle appearing beneath Gajeel, tentacle-like tendrils appearing from the magic circle and wrapping around Gajeel, completely restraining his movements. Gajeel grunted as he tried to fight against the tendrils, however he was completely unable to move.

"What the fuck?!" Gajeel outburst.

"Struggle as much as you want, you won't escape and quite honestly I love seeing my victims squirm." Dimitri said in schadenfreude before looking at Evangeline respectfully. "You are allowed the first hit, Lady Evangeline."

"With pleasure." Evangeline responded, walking towards the restrained Gajeel.

Lucy had laid on her back behind the stalagmite, obeying Gajeel's order before the Dragon Slayer ran off to fight Evangeline. Despite the immense exhaustion she was in, Lucy couldn't fall asleep. The sounds of the fight, the worry for her friend, and the adrenaline that was running through her veins (even though it wasn't doing anything to help her), kept her awake, and thus she listened to everything that happened. She knew that Gajeel was restrained and that Evangeline and Dimitri were planning on killing Gajeel. Despite the Iron Dragon Slayer's orders and her still prevalent exhaustion, Lucy got to her feet as she prepared to come out from behind the stalagmite and help Gajeel. She knew that Gajeel will probably be angry at her, because she will be putting her life in danger - especially since Evangeline is already adamant about giving her a painful and brutal death - but she knows that they'll find and kill her shortly after killing Gajeel anyways.

Besides, she just can't lay down when one of her friends. especially one as close as Gajeel, is about to be murdered. It was a principle of Lucy Heartfilia.

Lucy peered from the side of the stalagmite, the blonde having to keep her hold on the mound to support her own weight; she hasn't even regained enough energy to stand up on her own. She saw Evangeline standing in front of Gajeel, the latter covered in tendrils that wrapped tightly around his body. Gajeel's lips were curled as he growled at Evangeline, his body still armoured in iron scales, the woman nearly pressing the blade of her water-made scythe against his neck.

"Stop...!" Lucy said, gaining the attention of Gajeel, Evangeline and Dimitri.

"What the hell, Bunny, I told you to stay behind there!" Gajeel yelled in protective anger towards Lucy.

"I'm not hiding when I should be saving my friends!" Lucy yelled back.

Evangeline smirked at Lucy, the woman moving her scythe away from Gajeel's neck and pointing it towards Lucy as she walked towards the blonde. "Well, well, well. Finally shown yourself, huh? I'd tell you that I hope you have finally accepted your fate, but I would prefer it tremendously more if you suffered before you die." Evangeline said. Lucy gave Evangeline a determined glare, even as she gripped the stalagmite for support, grabbing a random golden key, she didn't see who's key it was and recognised it as a Zodiac key because of the colour of the key, pointing the key towards Evangeline like she would have a spike in magic power and summon a Celestial Spirit that would quickly defeat Evangeline and Dimitri. But both female mages knew that it wouldn't work like that. Evangeline laughed in amusement towards Lucy. "Talk about clutching at straws, I'm sure that you would pass out even by summoning one of those silver key spirits of yours."

Lucy noticed something red behind Evangeline and Dimitri, something that only she could see. It was a red gem, a ruby. It looked broken slightly, like someone had chiselled its sides. And yet there was also the most peculiar of sights, as it looked like the smaller pieces were moving towards the bigger piece, like it was a magnet to them, the smaller pieces attaching to the facets of the ruby. A pile of white boulders rolled silently towards the ruby as it was becoming restored, the gem glowing slightly as it was repairing itself.

Evangeline leaned her head to the side and raised an eyebrow as she noticed that Lucy was seemingly looking more at her side than at her. "What are you...?" Evangeline said, looking behind both herself and Diitri, her onyx-coloured eyes widening as she saw the Ruby Cyclops repairing its body. "Oh crap."

The Ruby Cyclops let out a loud roar, like a large monster that just ate and has a mouth full of gravel. The Ruby Cyclops aimed a fist down towards Dimitri, the dark mage disappearing into his shadow and moving out of the way just before the rock fist caused the ground to crack and almost shatter. "GIVE BACK THE FORTITUDE ORB AT ONCE, MAGES OF DARKNESS!" The stone golem roared in a booming voice that echoed in Gajeel's skull because of both his sensitive hearing and his close proximity to the giant, even though the one-eyed golem hadn't even acknowledged his existence. "THE FORTITUDE ORB MUST NEVER BE IN THE GRASP OF THOSE THAT WALK THE PATH OF EVIL! IT IS MY DUTY TO PROTECT THE ORB, GIVE IT BACK AND I WILL SPARE YOUR LIVES!"

"That thing doesn't even know of the concept of silence, doesn't it?" Dimitri said as he appeared from a disembodied shadow, right next to Evangeline. What Dimitri was unaware of was that, as he escaped from the attacking stone giant, he ceased his focus on the Shadow Bound he was using to restrain Gajeel, making the shadow tendrils lose their strength and power, allowing the Dragon Slayer to destroy the tendrils and ultimately free himself. Dimitri looked at Gajeel, his purple eyes widening as he saw that the iron-eater was now free. "Damn it."

The Ruby Cyclops fired a red laser beam towards Dimitri from its ruby eye, the Shadow Magic mage rolling out of the way. Dimitri was on his knees and one hand, the black-haired man raised his other hand, shadows surrounding it as he prepared an offensive Shadow Magic spell to attack the Ruby Cyclops with, however in his peripherals he saw Gajeel running towards him, the man unable to dodge the Dragon Slayer. Gajeel hit Dimitri in the face with an Iron Dragon's Club, the dark mage making a yell of pain as he was flung back by the force of the impact.

"Ha, that felt good!" Gajeel said, turning the iron pole back into his hand and forearm, flexing the hand into a fist. Gajeel then felt an eye on him, the long-haired Dragon Slayer looking to see the cause of the sensation, looking to see the Ruby Cyclops looking down at him. Gajeel couldn't read the look on the one-eyed stone being's face, the Dragon Slayer may like a good fight, but he's not sure that he wants to fight the golem when he's meant to be focussing on the two dark mages that are in front of him. "You're not thinkin' of fighting me, right?"

"DO NOT FRIGHT, CHILD OF DRAGONS!" The Ruby Cyclops said as gently as it could with its booming and gravely voice, Gajeel had to cover most of his ears as the voice was still unbearable to his ears; it was to his ears like mobile transport to his stomach. "EVEN THOUGH I SEE THAT YOU ONCE TEETERED ON THE EDGE OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS, YOU HAVE NOW ULTIMATELY WALKED ON THE PATH OF LIGHT. I ALSO SEE THAT NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR FRIEND WISH TO TAKE THE FORTITUDE ORB FOR EVIL PURPOSES, I HAVE NO REASON TO DESTROY OR ATTACK EITHER OF YOU!"

"So what if we have to fight both of you? I still have the other members of Siren Fin in my shadow, and I can easily summon them for battle whenever I want to." Dimitri said, the man using his magic to make his shadow grow as a large circle, with him being its centre, wherein other mages of Evangeline's guild would most likely appear. "And I can Dispel other people's spells, just like so."

Dimitri raised his hand towards Gajeel, using his Dispel Magic to make the iron scales that armoured the Dragon Slayer disappear. "You're only a slight setback in our plans, like an annoying little cockroach that won't get out of my way." Evangeline said, surrounding her hands in spheres of water. "When your friends find you and Lucy here, all that they can do is just mourn your deaths."

A large sphere of light suddenly shot out from the darkness behind the two dark mages, hitting Dimitri in the back and sending him flying across the area of the cavern, the black-themed man spinning around, his back slamming against the hard wall on the opposite side of the cavern area. Dimitri made a loud and painful grunt as he dropped to the ground. Dimitri pushed himself off the ground, hissing as he felt a stinging pain where his back was hit by the sphere, the man looking at the area of darkness that the sphere was fired from.

Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandes appeared from the darkness, looking serious and enraged. Erza was in her Heaven's Wheel Armour, a circle of ten swords spinning behind her as she held two more swords in her hands, outstretched as she was ready to start swinging and slashing them towards the dark mages that hurt her friends. Jellal was surrounded by a heavenly light, his coat and hair was like he was in a small updraft, magical energy coming off of him in waves. Evangeline faced a palm towards the two mages, a blue magic circle appeared in front of the palm, scythe-like blades of water shooting out of the magic circle. Erza ran towards the green-haired woman, the scarlet-haired mage eventually using her armour's magic to fly towards her, keeping hold of the two swords in her hands, the circle of swords that she commanded over following after her as she flew closer to the water-using mage. Evangeline's eyes widened as she realised that this was the great Titania of Fairy Tail that she was facing against; and in the blink of an eye the powerful Requip mage had swiped and slashed her with her swords.

Evangeline was sent tumbling towards Dimitri, the latter catching the former as she neared him. Evangeline and Dimitri looked at their enemies, seeing Erza 'Titania' Scarlet, Jellal Fernandes, The Ruby Cyclops and Gajeel Redfox. "Dimitri, we have the Fortitude Orb, that's what Lord Xan sent us here for. We should leave, now." Evangeline said to Dimitri, not looking towards the Shadow Magic mage; her eyes were fixed on the three mages and the golem that looked more than ready and willing to beat her to a pulp. "Even we don't really stand a chance against this, we should just leave right now."

"I concur, Lady Evangeline." Dimitri said, the man and his guild master disappearing into his shadow. The shadow was, at first, in the shape of a circle. However, when Evangeline and Dimitri were absorbed into it, it took a shape that could be compared to a tadpole. The shadow tadpole quickly began 'swimming', moving under the feet of Erza, Jellal, Gajeel and the Ruby Cyclops in the blink of an eye; and before anyone could do anything, it had disappeared into the darkness, where it was impossible to even catch.

Erza looked at the darkness with wide eyes of shock, the woman falling to her knees and unconsciously Requiping into her regular armour, the swords that she summoned disappearing. "We... we failed." Erza muttered, her voice sounding like it had broken slightly. Gajeel wondered how long it had been since Erza had last failed a request she was given, if she ever had in the first place. "We promised them that we would save the Fortitude Orb... and we failed them."

Panther Lily appeared from the same darkness that the shadow tadpole came from, the entrance to the area of Sorrel Caverns. The Exceed was shortly followed after by Adeline and then Sara, the latter of the two looking exhausted. "Damn... stamina... so out of... breath." Sara said as she leaned against one of the cavern walls, taking deep breaths and gasps of air in her pauses. "I need... to work on... my stamina...!"

Adeline looked at the distraught Erza in confusion, noticing that there are no evil-looking mages present. "What happened? Did we win?" The Rock Magic mage asked in confusion, not taking notice of the giant stone golem that was basically standing right next to her.

"THE FORTITUDE ORB HAS BEEN TAKEN!" The Ruby Cyclops said, sounding distraught in its ear-splitting and nigh-unbearable rough voice. "MY ANCIENT DUTY, TO PROTECT THE ORB FROM THE HANDS OF EVIL, HAS BEEN FAILED!"

Panther Lily covered his ears with his hands, the giant golem's voice feeling like it could break his skull into tiny pieces. When the stone being stopped talking, Panther Lily uncovered his ears, deducing the stone giant as being the Ruby Cyclops that Claudia had spoke of. The panther-like entity then directed his orange-coloured eyes towards Lucy, the blonde sitting down, her back pressing against one of the many stalagmites that pointed up to the ceiling. The Exceed walked towards Lucy, turning back into his usual small form as his time for his Battle Mode form had ran out.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Lily asked as he approached the exhausted blonde, concerned for his teammate. The small, cat-like entity noticed the cut along the blonde's elbow. "You got hurt...!"

"I'm okay, Lily. I have gotten hurt far worse ever since I joined Fairy Tail; this is but a little scratch in comparison." Lucy said, gently and slowly wrapping her hands around Lily's little body and placing him on her lap, petting him on the head, making him purr because of his cat-like existence. "And besides, I can get this healed easily by Wendy when we come back to Fairy Tail. Of course I don't think I need to get this healed by Wendy, it should heal fast enough and well enough on its own, without the need of her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic."

"And what if the little Sky Maiden wants to heal ya an' insists on it?" Gajeel said as he approached Lucy and Lily, the Dragon Slayer looking down at the former seriously with his hands on his hips. Lucy could see Erza, Jellal, Sara and Adeline talking with each other about something, and they were seemingly also talking with the Ruby Cyclops. "Yer the light of our guild, Bunny. Wendy may still be a kid, but even she's a little protective of ya."

"Well if Wendy insists on it then I'll let her heal me. I can never say no to her anyways." Lucy responded. The blonde pressed her palms against the ground, intending to get back up, however as she pressed against the ground she found that she wasn't getting up in even the slightest. Lucy looked back up at Gajeel as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, the blonde smiling meekly towards the black-haired man. "Do you think you can carry me? I don't think I have enough energy left to stand up on my own."

Gajeel smirked down at Lucy. "You just want me to hold you, don't you?" The Iron Dragon Slayer said, continuing to smirk at the blonde with his hands of his hips.

"Well I will admit that I like feeling those large muscles of yours." Lucy said, smirking back at Gajeel. "Sure, you can't hold a candle to Laxus or Elfman in that category, but you're sexy enough with your current muscles."

Gajeel made a snort of amusement towards his blonde friend (with benefits), flexing one of his arms, making a small scent of arousal come from Lucy as she saw the flex of Gajeel's bicep. "I can become as big as Elfman at anytime whenever I want."

It was Lucy's turn to make a snort of amusement, rolling her brown eyes. "I may like Elfman and all, but I prefer it if you didn't look like a bodybuilder that ate another bodybuilder." The blonde responded, petting Panther Lily as the little Exceed continued to lay down on her creamy legs. Gajeel was almost jealous of Panther Lily, the Iron Dragon Slayer remembering when he got to lay down on those smooth limbs when he was on his first mission with her. Lucy then outstretched her arms towards Gajeel, almost like a little kid that wanted to be picked up by their parent. Gajeel couldn't deny that she looked kinda cute. "So will you now pick me up and carry me, O Gajeel the Great?"

"You're lucky that you nearly got me wrapped around your fingers, Bunny." Gajeel said as he picked Lucy up and held her bridal style. Panther Lily remained on Lucy's legs, still too low on magic to use his Aera to grow angelic wings.

Lucy let out a little laugh, one that Gajeel had secretly enjoyed the sound of. "I already have Laxus and Freed wrapped around my fingers, and that is to say the least. I don't know how many other people I can wrap around my little fingers." Lucy said, the Celestial Spirit summoner nuzzling her head into Gajeel's muscular chest, making him blush slightly. "Thanks, Gaj. If you didn't come just in time, I would have been dead. I know that we started off on more than just the wrong foot, but I don't regret meeting you; I'm happy to have you as a friend."

Gajeel's happy smile faded, his face becoming more serious and stern. "Bunny, I don't want you to risk your life for my own." The Dragon Slayer said to the blonde, causing her to look up at him with one open eye. "I can't risk losing ya, you're one of my closest friends."

"I already told you, I can't just stand back when one of my friends is in danger." Lucy said, glaring up at Gajeel with both of her eyes, wrapping her arms over her chest. "If you want to be not only my friend, but a close friend of mine, then you have to accept and be prepared for when I risk my life because you are in danger."

"Lucy, are you okay?" Erza said worriedly as she ran towards Gajeel, Lucy and Lily, the scarlet-haired knight-like mage stopping in front of the three. "You look hurt, and your magic level is low."

"Yeah, I got hurt and used up my reserves of magical energy. But I am overall okay and I managed to land a few hits on Evangeline." Lucy said in an attempt to calm down her protective friend.

"Don't worry, Bunny. The next time I see Evangeline, I'll kick her ass so hard that she'll be sent flyin' outta Fiore." Gajeel said, smiling as he saw Lucy's face light up as the sorceress laughed.

"What I don't get is why you were kidnap and fought against the leader of this operation." Panther Lily said as he layed down on Lucy's body, his little body making him light and taking up little room on the blonde's body.

"I don't get it either." Erza agreed.

"She spoke to me, about why she personally wanted to kill me." Lucy said causing Erza and Lily to focus on her. Jellal had approached his comrades, the former Wizard Saint having heard Lucy mentioning that she knows some information about the guild master that was behind the cavern invasion. "Apparently, she and Theodora are members of some guild or organization called Dark Sect. She also mentioned a Malefic Square and a Lord Xan. Jellal, do you know about any of these."

The blue-haired man shook his head from side to side. "No." Jellal answered, looking ashamed for his lack of knowledge. "Throughout the years, I have picked up knowledge of many dark guilds, black magic cults, mages that were experimenting in illegal spells and potions, dark organisations and many others. But I have never once heard of Dark Sect, Malefic Square or even a so-called Lord Xan."

"Damn, does this mean we have to fight against someone to save the world, again, for the hundredth time?" Gajeel said, incredulous that there might be some underground cult or guild or whatever that is going to threaten everything he knows and loves. Its like he could never catch a break since joining Fairy Tail.

"Don't tell me that you are getting lazy, Gajeel." Erza said, her tone almost playful as she crossed her arms over her armoured chest, smiling at the Iron Dragon Slayer. "After all, you're one of the many adrenaline junkies of our guild. In fact, you're on par with Natsu and Gray as one of our biggest adrenaline junkies."

"It's not that I hate the excitement an' all, hell I fucking _live_ for those moments." Gajeel said, continuing to hold Lucy in his arms. She wasn't at all heavy, not only was Gajeel phenomenally strong but Lucy felt light. "But I'm so damn tired of always having to save the world an' every month and so. I mean, can't someone else just stop the bad guys for once?"

"I have been taking down dark guilds and evil cults that have been trying to use forbidden magic to take over the world on a weekly basis for years." Jellal said, almost looking a little smug towards Gajeel. "You are getting lazy."

"Call me lazy again and your foot is goin' deep up your ass!" Gajeel threatened angrily. Jellal didn't fear Gajeel, they had sparred many times since the former has joined Fairy Tail and he always went easy on the Dragon Slayer. And Jellal is also fast, he could easily escape Gajeel if he ever tried something like that.

"While Master Boris is still greatly new at the whole thing about being the one in charge of an entire guild, even if it is one that he himself had created, I'm sure that Imp Fang would be willing to help Fairy Tail with this whole Dark Sect ordeal. Of course, Master Boris and Makarov would have to talk to each other first and make an agreement or something like that first, but I'm sure that Imp Fang, as an up-and-coming guild, would be more than willing to help the strongest guild in Fiore." Sara said, the black-haired woman having seemingly snuck up on them, startling them all.

"Fairy Tail is open to the aid of others, however we don't wish to bring any trouble on any of the other legal guilds." Erza responded calmly. "If Imp Fang is already being targeted by the Dark Sect, then Fairy Tail will accept your help. I am sorry if I sound rude, but I cannot sleep well at night knowing that I put others in danger because we took their offer for help."

"I understand." Sara said calmly, the plant-based mage looking towards Lucy. "I too am happy that you're okay... but d-don't think that means that you're special, 'kay?"

" _Frickin' tsundere._ " Gajeel thought, seeing the blush on Sara's face as she looked away at Lucy. It was clear that the woman may have an interest in Lucy, and for some reason it made Gajeel feel angry. Maybe it was because of the close and protective friendship they had built over time, but the thought of Lucy going out or falling in love with _anyone_ made him feel kind of angry. Maybe he just didn't want Bunny Girl to get her heart broken again, or to go on another date that was like a disaster. Nevertheless, Gajeel just knew that if Sara ever wanted to date Lucy, she would have to get past him before she can even so much as ask Lucy out.

"So do we go back to the request lady or...?" Adeline started, forgetting the rest of her words.

"I'm afraid that we will have to return to Claudia and tell her of our failure. We can only hope that she will be understand." Jellal answered. The blue-haired S-Class mage looked at the Ruby Cyclops, the one-eyed stone golem looking at the passageway that the shadow that Dimitri and Evangeline disappeared through. "I apologise that we were unable to help you protect the Fortitude Orb. Do you wish to go after them?"

"EVEN THOUGH I WISH TO RETRIEVE THE ORB, I CANNOT LEAVE THE CAVERNS! I WAS MADE TO ALWAYS PROTECT THE ORB AND STAY IN THE CAVERNS, THUS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO LEAVE THE CAVERNS!" The Ruby Cyclops responded, the mages could hear vibrations coming from his voice bouncing off in their skulls. "CHILDREN OF LIGHT, I BEG OF YOU TO RETRIEVE THE FORTITUDE ORB AND BRING IT BACK TO THESE CAVERNS, WHERE IT BELONGS!"

"We shall do that, Ruby Cyclops." Erza swore adamantly and earnestly.

* * *

Claudia was weeping into her palms as they covered her face, the autumn-haired woman's arms against her desk. Lucy (who was now leaning against Gajeel), Panther Lily, Erza, Jellal, Sara and Adeline felt uncomfortable as the mayor was crying in front of them. Gajeel had his arms crossed over his chest, an unamused expression on his face; he could understand getting distraught over losing something that was important and precious to you and your town (especially if you technically own the town), but it felt like the middle-aged woman had been crying forever. Gajeel's patience has always been finite at best, and he doesn't know how much more of it that he has left.

Claudia moved her head up, her face no longer covered by her hands, revealing dry tears stains that trailed down to the ends of her face from her eyes. "You failed to protect and save the Fortitude Orb?" Claudia asked, the woman having seemingly forgotten that she had asked the same question and got the same answer multiple times by now. Maybe she was just having major difficulties processing the mage's failure.

There was a pregnant silence in the office, the mages (sans Gajeel) and Panther Lily looking at each other in the eyes without moving their bodies, uncertain of who should break the news to Claudia... again (though Adeline was uncertain because she can't fully what happened nevertheless). Eventually, Lucy let out an audible gulp as she had decided to take the plunged. "Yes." The blonde spirit summoner said.

Claudia let out a wail, the woman almost certain to start crying into her hands again for who knows how long. "Sorrel Town's biggest pride... gone!" The woman said as she sobbed into her arms, not caring that she was ruining her expensive green suit. "I have failed as a mayor!"

"Mrs. Claudia, I will take all of the blame for what happened to the Fortitude Orb." Erza said solemnly, stepping forward slightly, bowing her head down and putting her hand on her chest. "I promise you, on my word as a Fairy Tail mage, we will get the Fortitude Orb back."

Claudia's crying had stopped, the woman remaining still and soundless before she straightened her back and folded her hands, looking at the mages in front of her with an impassive expression, the drying stains of her tears being the only sign that even hinted that she was crying earlier. "See that you do." Claudia said, her voice had lacked all hostility but it also lacked her earlier hospitality. Lucy chewed the inside of her mouth in nervousness, fearing that the woman may now be mad at them. It was a mystic orb that was considered to be a part of the town's most famous area, of course she would be mad at them for letting a dark guild take it. "Since you technically failed the mission, I should deduct your reward completely. However you did take out half of a Dark Guild, which the Magic Council has now arrested, so I will give you ten percent of the reward. Goodbye."

It was minutes later that Lucy, Gajeel, Panther Lily, Erza and Jellal were standing in front of the train station (though Lucy still needed some support by Gajeel), Sara and Adeline were standing nearby. "Well, I guess this is so long, for now. I guess it was good to fight alongside you guys, even though I didn't get to fight alongside Gajeel or Lucy. Maybe if we take another job together or something else that requires us to spend time together, we can do it again. But who knows what the future holds?" Sara said. The black-haired mage looked at the sun, just starting to set below the horizon and creating a beautiful orange and yellow glow. The pink-eyed mage looked mesmerized by the sight before she looked back at the Fairy Tail mages. "Adeline and I don't live far from here, so we can walk the way home. Farewell."

"Goodbye." Adeline said as she waved at the Fairy Tail mages, the female mage and her friend then proceeding to walk down one of the roads and disappearing in the distance, where they were no doubt returning to their home town. Lucy frowned as the two mages disappeared, something that Gajeel had easily noticed.

"What's with the big frown, Bunny?" Gajeel asked, looking at the woman that was basically leaning on him because of her rapid usage of magic.

"It's nothing special, really, Gajeel." Lucy responded, not putting a single effort in trying to remove her frown. "It's just that I was looking forward to becoming friends with them, but I don't think that I really bonded with either of them that well."

Gajeel snorted in amusement. "Knowing you, Bunny, the next time you see them you'll probably be best friends with them."

Lucy let out a laugh in response to what Gajeel said, finding it equally funny and heartwarming. The Fairy Tail members sat down at the train station, the last few orange rays of the lowering sun making the place look beautiful, waiting for their train back to Magnolia. After a few minutes of waiting for the train, luckily in warm weather so none of them had felt cold, the giant, mechanical vehicle finally arrived, stopping in front of them as they sat on their bench.

The train doors opened, many passengers coming off and coming on, our Fairy Tail members being a part of the latter. The train had began moving, Gajeel, Lucy and Panther Lily sat on one side of seats while Erza and Jellal sat on the other side, the two aforementioned S-Class mages happily holding hands as a couple. Lucy suddenly started to look excited, causing her friends to look at her like she just grew another head or two.

"It's still just so exciting, you know." The blonde mage said, fidgeting slightly from her excitement, giving Jellal and Erza a wide smile. "I'm so excited that you two are going to move in together, I don't know if I can keep the secret."

Erza had suddenly gotten onto both of her feet, the Requip mage changing into her Heaven's Wheel Armour, summoning a sharp sword and pointing it at Lucy, the tip of the blade just inches from her neck, the red-haired mage also using the magic of her armour to make multiple swords appear and float in the air, also pointing at Lucy. All done within the span of a second. Everyone in the train carriage, even Gajeel and Jellal, looked at the scarlet-haired mage in surprise. This especially went to Lucy, who was on the worst side of the swords that someone can be.

"Do not say anything to anyone, especially Mirajane." Erza warned, her own eyes were wide like she was doing this as something in the moment. Actually, it is most likely something that she is doing in the heat of the moment. Or at least something like that. "This is a very intimate part of the relationship between me and Jellal, and I don't want everyone to throw a big party to celebrate it before it has happened. So please, Lucy, don't tell a single soul."

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, I won't tell anyone!" Lucy responded hurriedly and quickly, waving her hands from side to side as she was scared of all the swords that were pointing at her and can pierce straight through her and chop her into bite-sized pieces in the blink of an eye.

"Thank you." Erza responded calmly, giving her close friend a calm smile. Erza suddenly summoned another sword in her free hand, the scarlet-haired woman pointing a sword in each of her hands at Gajeel and Panther Lily respectively, commanding the other swords that floated around her to point at the two other members of Team Iron Star respectively. "And you two better not tell anyone either."

"I promise you that I won't tell anyone." Panther Lily said calmly, despite having about ten swords pointed at his tiny body.

"I don't give a crap about you an' Oberon moving in with each other, Titania." Gajeel said, the Iron Dragon Slayer suddenly biting into the blade pointed at him, his magic allowing him to break the tip off and eat it without getting even a single cut. "Don't you remember the ride here? I don't care about this whole moving in thing."

Erza had decided to ignore Gajeel's comment about not caring about her and Jelllal's relationship, after all even though she didn't want her friends and guildmates to make a big deal out of it, she didn't want people to dismiss it; she's in a happy relationship, like in those fairy tales that she read as a little girl shortly after moving into Fairy Hills. Except that she would be more like the Knight in Shining Armour than the Princess in Distress. However she was happy enough knowing that her and Jellal's plans won't be announced to the guild before she is fully reading, sitting back down on her seat and using her Requip to change back into her regular armour, leaning against her blue-haired boyfriend and hugging his arm.

Jellal had cleared his throat, the Heavenly Body mage knowing that not only did the conversation needed to be changed but what he was about to talk about was something that needed to be talked about. "We'll have to do broad research on the Dark Guild we came across and everything we have assumed to be connected to it." Jellal said, his guildmates looking at him silently. "We don't know what Siren Fin is planning to do with the Fortitude Orb, nor do we know anything about a Dark Sect, a Malefic Square or anyone named Xan that has connections to dark magic. It is always best to know your enemy, especially if they are a Dark Guild that could be catastrophic. We have to inform Makarov when we get back to Fairy Tail."

"Agreed." Panther Lily responded, his little arms crossed over his chest, the Exceed nodding.

Lucy had almost balled her fists, remembering that Evangeline was close to killing her and Gajeel. But the blonde had also remembered Evangeline's words about Theodora. All that Lucy knows of the Lightning Magic user was that she disappeared shortly after Lucy took her out with Urano Metria, never having heard of or seen her again. Apparently Theodora got in trouble with this Lord Xan person, that was the reason why Evangeline had her animus to kill Lucy. It scared Lucy, and made her feel worried for this Theodora. Yes, she tried to kill both her and Gajeel and didn't even bat an eye, but the thought of someone being mistreated by their superior, even if they are someone who is evil, just sickened Lucy. It was the reason why Lucy felt worried for Flare when she saw that she was being abused by Ivan.

And it seemed that this Lord Xan fellow is superior to both Theodora and Evangeline. That thought, in and of itself, was quite terrifying. Both woman seemed to be strong enough to not only command their own Dark Guilds, and fight on an even ground with Lucy and Gajeel. If Xan is meant to be their superior, then he must be even stronger. And usually the higher up in rank someone is in a Dark Guild, the more merciless and sadistic they could be. Theodora and Evangeline seem to be quite merciless and sadistic themselves; Lucy was certain that she wouldn't enjoy meeting this Lord Xan person.

And considering her luck when it comes to these Dark Guilds, the Celestial Spirit mage is certain that she will be meeting him in person.

Lucy let out a tired sigh, one of both physical and mental exhaustion. She had long ago decided to bring her fate into her own hands and control it, probably as far back as when she first ran away from the Heartfilia Konzern. However it seems as though fate has escaped her hands and is deciding to take revenge for her originally catching it. It seems like she is going to just accept that fate has most likely determined that she'll inevitably come across other members of this Dark Sect and meet with this Lord Xan who has a high chance of being the one in charge of it.

Doesn't mean she'll be happy about it in the slightest.

Lucy let out another sigh, feeling her physical exhaustion come back to her with a vengeance. The blonde looked to her side, seeing Gajeel sitting at the edge near a window, the effects of the Stillness Elixir that he drank a few days ago still being in effect, leaning his elbow against the side and looking out of the window in boredom. Lucy leaned down against Gajeel tiredly, her sleepy brown eyes - half covered by her eyelids - looked up at the Dragon Slayer's confused crimson eyes. It was clear that Gajeel was confused and would probably try to get her off him, and she didn't have the nerve nor the energy to fight.

"I'm tired, you're the most comfy thing here to sleep on." Lucy said, giving Gajeel a little glare as she just wanted to sleep. "I'm a woman, don't bother arguing with me."

Before Gajeel could say a word, Lucy had already closed and fallen asleep on his muscular body. Gajeel opened his mouth, ready to say something before rolling Lucy onto the floor, however he had stopped and merely closed his mouth. Erza, Jellal and Panther Lily watched intently, especially the last of the three, wondering what the usually rude Dragon Slayer would do. After all, if it was basically anyone else that decided to sleep on top of him then he would just shove them off in a second.

Gajeel had shifted and turned his body around, gentle to not wake up the blonde with grace that no one would expect from someone like him - given his physique and rough personality - and continued to do so until his back was against the same wall that his elbow was pressed against earlier, lying down on his seat with Lucy asleep on top of him and using his chest as a pillow. Gajeel had secured his arms around Lucy, his hold of her body was strong enough to keep her from rolling off in case the train would bump or make an abrupt stop, but not so strong that it would cause her to become uncomfortable and wake up.

Jellal was thoroughly astounded by the sight, knowing that Gajeel is one who not only greatly enjoys fighting but tends to be indifferent to those around him. Hell, Jellal has seen and heard moments where Gajeel has growled at children and scared them away because of one reason or another. And from what he has heard, of Gajeel beating Lucy up for his entertainment when they had first met, it seems as though their relationship has gone a long way since then. Though Jellal wasn't one to judge of people coming close together despite everything bad that has happened to them in the past. After all, when he believed he was possessed by Zeref, Jellal had hurt Erza, separated her from her friends in the Tower of Heaven, caused many of them to die during the construction of the tower, killed one of their closest friends in front of Erza's eyes (something that Jellal still deeply regrets). And yet now, now that he has changed and redeemed himself, he and Erza are now a couple, one that is planning on taking further steps in their relationship.

A thought then occurred to Jellal; if he and Erza could go so far despite everything that has happened in the past, who's to say that Gajeel and Lucy couldn't develop their friendship to higher levels despite what happened in the past.

The future can be so unpredictable.

Gajeel looked at the two mages and Exceed (as Panther Lily moved onto the other side of seats), almost glaring as he saw how starry-eyed they looked as they watched Bunny Girl sleep on him, not helped that he had moved his body to make it more comfortable for her to sleep. As long as they didn't say anything about how they thought of him and Bunny Girl as a couple, he guessed he could let it slide.

As much as he loved Lucy as a friend, he doesn't want to ever fall in love again. After falling in love with Levy and thinking that she was his mate, only for that love of theirs to go away, he had found himself falling into a darkness that was hard to escape. Gajeel really didn't like that darkness, and if he were to once again fall in love, this time with Lucy, and think of her as his mate only for him to lose his feelings for her, he knows he would not only fall into that darkness again but he would never get out.

So no, Gajeel wasn't going to fall in love with Lucy.

…

Strange, Gajeel briefly heard a voice in his head that disagreed with him.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Aaaand I'm ending this chapter here 'cause this chapter is already 19,000+ words long (which even I think is a ridiculously long chapter), so some of the other stuff that I originally planned for this chapter will just have to appear at a latter time. Didn't expect that battle between Evangeline and Gajeel and Lucy to be so long, I even had to scrap the sex scene that I was originally planning for this chapter, but like I said, 19,000+ words (and it has been nearly two weeks since the last chapter... then again the second chapter came out a month or so after the first one, and that was prior to when I became more quick in my writing).**

 **I really hope that people are enjoying the story and I hope that you can leave a lovely little review about your thoughts, what you think went wrong and what went right. It could be fuel that will make me want to write more, as well as to know what people would like to see more of in the future.**

 **Adieu.**


	10. The World and Heart are Fickle Things

"My Lord, we present to you, the Fortitude Orb." Evangeline said, her tone respectful, bending down on one knee, the magical orange sphere in her hands as she had her arms outstretched towards Xan, the armour-clad man sitting down on his throne, crimson eyes focussing on the magical relic that was being held out towards him. Behind Evangeline was Dimitri and half of Siren Fin, the other half having been defeated by the Fairy Tail and Imp Fang mages and now in the custody of the Magic Council. They too were bowing down on one knee as they were before Xan, knowing that he would demand respect from those that are a part of his Dark Sect.

Xan rose from his throne, slowly walking towards the bowing Evangeline as she left her arms outstretched towards him. With gentleness that one would never expect from someone as brutal as him, Xan picked up the Fortitude Orb; the small sphere letting out an equally small pulse of an unknown magical esomething n looked at the little orb that he held in his hand, his expression completely unreadable with the exception of his eyes; filled with what could be compared to the wonder of a child. A smile slowly rose of Xan's face, the man keeping his red eyes continuing to be fixated on the small, orange orb. And yet still no one rose up to their feet, not wanting to risk changing Xan's mood to anger because of actions that he would see as 'disrespectful'.

"Congratulations, Evangeline. You managed to bring Dark Sect closer to its goal." Xan said as he turned around. The man walked behind his throne, there sat a golden treasure chest. Xan reached for inside his armour, pulling out a golden key. Xan bent down, inserting the golden tool into the keyhole and turning it. The chest's lid opened up, revealing it to be empty. Xan placed the Fortitude Orb into the treasure chest, the man closing the chest and locking it again, putting his key back into where it was. The half-bald man walked back in front of his throne, noticing a lack in some of the Siren Fin mages. "I see that half of your guild has seemed to disappear."

"I apologise, Lord Xan." Evangeline responded softly, hoping that there was a way for her to not become punished by the man. "Half of my guild was ordered to guard the entrance of the Sorrel Caverns in case any mages tried to stop us, while the other half was directed in Dispelling the barrier that guarded the Fortitude Orb. Some mages, mostly Fairy Tail mages, had came and defeated half of Siren Fin while Dimitri, myself and the other mages were able to escape. I promise you, I was close to ending both Lucy Heartfilia and Gajeel Redfox, but I was stopped just before I could end their worthless lives."

Xan sat down on his throne in silence, his arms resting down on the trees arms, another unreadable expression on his face. Xan was silent, and it sent a chill up the spines of every Siren Fin mage that was present, including the guild master. Xan had slowly rose to his feet, Evangeline flinched. She had no doubt that he would hurt her.

"You have only lost half of your guild, and you succeeded in getting me the Fortitude Orb." Xan said calmly. It was kind or soft or welcoming in any way or form, it was just calm. "Getting me the Fortitude Orb has made me feel a little gleeful, and it is only half of your guild that you lost. I shall let your losses slide, however if you ever wish to get any of those mages back then you're going to have to retrieve them yourself."

"Do not worry about retrieving some of our lost mages, Great Lord Xan." Theodora said, the red-haired woman standing up, a small smile on her face. She was now wearing a dark cloak, her entire body covered in a black clothing of some sort. Theodora's head was the only part of her that showed, the cut on her cheek from when Xan slapped her growing small and fading slightly, almost healed completely from then. Her hair was no longer in a curly ponytail, but instead was now in a single French braid that hung out form the hood of her cloak. "I already have plans to attack the Magic Council. Specifically where they keep their prisoners."

Xan made a grunt. "Then see to it." He said.

"I will." Theodora promised as she lowered down onto one knee, her hand on her chest as she as solemn about her promise.

"I have no reason for you all to remain here, leave my throne room." Xan ordered, the mages in front of him obeying and leaving.

"Well that went a lot more better than what Lord Xan usually does, I guess he really is in a happy mood now that the Fortitude Orb is in his possession, though I'm sure that he'll now want the other orbs, 'specially since they are required for our plans to work." Dimitri commented as most of the remaining Siren Fin guild members decided to head back to their guild, the Shadow Magic mage and Evangeline being the only members of the Dark Guild that weren't heading back. Dimitri stretched his arms behind his head, a little pop coming from the joints that connected his arms to his shoulders, a smile appearing on his face. Not the usual sadistic grin that most dark mages have (one that Dimitri is no stranger to), but instead an adoring sort of smile, sorta like one that a kid would have upon seeing a puppy or kitten. "Whatever, when Dark Sect finally rules supreme, we dark mages will finally be the ones calling the shots. I think I should go see my beloved little sister."

Dimitri entered his shadow, the now disembodied shape now speeding down the halls and through the stairs of Dark Sects headquarters to see Dimitri's aforementioned sibling.

"He sure does care for his sister, doesn't he?" Theodora commented, having seen Dimitri disappear into his shadow and move to his sister's room.

"Of course he does, he was even protecting her before I brought him here, to Dark Sect." Evangeline commented, remembering that rainy day, when she found a little boy protecting and holding an even smaller girl. Oh how she saw the potential in his eyes and the exceptional level of magic power that he had for someone his age. He was perfect to recruit as long as Dark Sect upheld their end of the bargain. Evangeline looked at Theodora, a question building up within her as she looked at her old friend. "Why are you taking notice of Dimitri's love for his sister just _now_?"

"I need his sister's help. That is all." Theodora responded.

A look of concern grew on Evangeline's face. "Dora, you know that I will do anything - anything at all - for you, but I don't know how long I can keep Dimitri pacified if he finds out that you're using his sister." The green-haired woman said. "I know that you're more than a match for Dimitri, but he has his ways. What would you need her for, anyways?"

"Because I need her power, her magic, to begin my revenge against the Fairy that defeated me and done _this_ to me." Theodora responded, pointing to the healing cut on her cheek. Evangeline grimaced at the cut, even as it was healing, she still hated to see it. The water manipulator knew that Theodora's animus towards Lucy was the same reason for her own shared feelings towards the aforementioned blonde; because she got Theodora on Xan's bad side, thus she was punished. "I have plans to make her suffer, to hurt those close to her. I will make sure that bad things happen to her family before she gets in our way again."

"Now that you have mentioned it, the blonde has gotten in our way as of late." Evangeline noted. "If she keeps this up, then Lord Xan will know about her and that she needs to be gotten rid of."

"That Dragon Slayer, Gajeel, has also helped her in getting in our way." Theodora said, looking down at her hand, small sparks of lightning circulating around her hand. "We may have to get rid of both of them. I think they might be some couple now or something."

" _ **Fairy Tail is the same guild that has gained recognition as being the strongest guild in Fiore, and has taken down the entire Balam Alliance, nearly single-handedly.**_ " Xiraceal said, the inexplicable entity appearing from the shadows. Theodora and Evangeline were startled by the creature's sudden appearance, as even they had gotten well used to what he is and what he looks like, they didn't know that he was listening to them, or even present for that matter. " _ **We have recently started coming out from our hiding, and those little pieces of Fairy Trash are already getting in our way. If this keeps up, then we'll have to destroy that guild for once and for all. It would even leave a good message to all the other Guilds of Light: fuck with The Dark Sect and you will be eradicated.**_ "

"That sounds like a good plan, Xiraceal. A very good plan indeed." Theodora said. "However, Xan doesn't want to put all his eggs in one basket. He wants to keep all his cards up his sleeve and his resources as available as possible. He also wants Dark Sect to be as unknown as possible, so we would need a very good reason to convince him to officially order Dark Sect to destroy a guild as popular as Fairy Tail."

" _ **Quite true, indeed. Lord Xan wishes for the Dark Sect to remain as unknown and unfindable as possible before our plans are near completion, for the more that know about us means the more that they can get in our way.**_ " Xiraceal agreed, the creature making all of the paper-thin arms of its right side form together, transforming into a single, muscular arm that was obsidian black. " ** _But if Fairy Tail continues to get in our way, then we will have to get rid of them for sure. And with their history of disbanding Dark Guilds, especially now that the members of a former guild that was dedicated to destroying Dark Guilds has mostly joined them, we will have to get rid of them nevertheless._** "

"We can get rid of them when everything comes to fruition, they'll be the first of the legal guilds to be washed from the face of the world when we have all of the orbs in our possession." Theodora said, smiling as her own plans concerning the guild and the Magic Council were still alive and well in her mind. "That is if the guild is lucky to be alive when it happens, especially with some of the plans that I have for tonight."

A wide grin grew on Xiraceal's face. " ** _I look forward to seeing what the outcome shall be._** " The creature said, his body changing into a dark mist that disappeared into the air.

* * *

Panther Lily was sitting down on the couch of his and Gajeel's home, the Exceed in his small form as he was reading a large book (at least large in comparison to his small, default form). The book he was reading was _Great Magus Labyrinth: A Numen's Lament_ , the fifth and most recent instalment of the novel series that is still taking the world by storm. A small distance from the couch that the cat-like entity was sitting on was a coffee table (that of course wasn't there until Lily had moved in), where there is a half full glass of kiwi juice.

It was nice for Panther Lily and Gajeel to spend time at the guild, with their friends (or lack thereof, since they aren't as outgoing as the other members of the guild), but there were still the days that they preferred to stay inside at home, doing their own things. After all, they don't really have a landlord to pay rent to and they have a couple hundred thousand Jewel on hand anyways from all the jobs they have been taken.

There was suddenly a light knock at the front door, causing Lily to look up from his novel and to the wooden, hinged barrier in confusion. The location of his and Gajeel's house wasn't very well known (unlike the occupants themselves), and most of the few that do don't usually come by. Lily placed his book down beside him and activated his Aera Magic, using his wings to fly towards the door. With his little paws, Panther Lily had grabbed hold of the door handle and turned it, the cat-like entity being relatively surprised by who he saw on the other side of the door.

"Lucy!" Panther Lily said happily as he saw his blonde teammate, immediately hugging her as best as he could do with his little arms. He could probably transform into his Battle Mode to hug her properly, but the transformation can only last for a certain time, and after that time is up he can't enter his Battle Form until a few minutes later, so it was best to not change into his Battle Form in case they were surprised attacked by something or someone. And it didn't seem like Lucy minded him hugging her in his little default form, the blonde woman giggling and hugging him back as she smiled at him.

"Hi, Lily, I came here to see you and Gajeel." Lucy greeted her feline friend as she hugged him. "I asked Mira for the directions here because you two weren't at the guild and I wanted to see you two."

"We didn't feel like going to the guild today, so we decided to stay home until we do some training later. Though it is nice to see you here." Panther Lily said, flying in front of Lucy as he and the Celestial Spirit mage had ceased their hug. Panther Lily looked at his blonde friend, she was wearing long, red pants that were completely different to the short skirts that she usually wore, with plain black shoes. Aside from that, Lucy wore one of her usual tops, this one a tank top, with her hair tied up into two pigtails. "Do you want a small tour around the house?"

Lucy smiled at her friend. "I would like that."

Panther Lily smiled back at his friend in response, showing her the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, his room and Gajeel's room. "And this leads to the basement." Lily said, pointing towards a stairway on the first floor that led even further down below, underneath the ground. "Gajeel is down there. He turned it into a little gym of his, he spends a lot more time there than I do, but I still workout there from time to time."

"So Gajeel is down there?" Lucy asked, pointing at the same basement. "And he turned it into a little gym of his?"

"Yep." Panther Lily responded, an almost mischievous grin growing wide on his face, making Lucy think that he has some motives in mind. Quite honestly, such a grin looked very uncanny on Lily's face. "Maybe you should go down and see him, I'm sure that he will be both surprised and elated to see you here."

Lucy had a feeling that Lily was alluding to sex, giving Lucy the impression that he too is a friend that believes and is trying to get her and Gajeel into becoming a couple. Though Lucy and Gajeel's friends with benefits relationship is basically now public news, something which the magazines (including Sorcerer Weekly, much to Lucy's mixed feelings) and tabloids have been using to stir up rumours about the two Fairy Tail mages turning into a couple. Though it wasn't like Lucy had came here with intentions that were completely pure; while she did genuinely want to spend time with Lily and Gajeel, she also has had a problem of having the Iron Dragon Slayer's body on her mind.

Which is why she is wearing what she is wearing underneath the long pants, and even why she is wearing the long pants in general. Though what she was wearing underneath the pants was also because she found it to be somewhat comfortable.

Lucy suddenly noticed that Lily was no longer flying in front of her, the blonde looking behind herself to see that Panther Lily was sitting back down on the couch and reading his novel. Guess she got too caught up in her memories and such. Nevertheless, Panther Lily's agenda wasn't all too different from Lucy's own, so she started going down to the basement. As Lucy was walking down the stairs to Gajeel and Lily's basement/personal gym, she could hear heavy grunting sounds coming from the baritone Dragon Slayer.

Lucy stopped as she was in front of the closed doors. She knows that people often let out grunts when they are training or lifting weights, but these grunts sounded gruff, even for someone who naturally has that pitch like Gajeel.

On the night that they first became friends with benefits, Gajeel had made it rather clear to Lucy that he is one to beat his meat (though it wasn't much of a shock to Lucy), but would he really be masturbating right now, when it is still technically the morning and Panther Lily is in a room that is almost next to the one that he is in. There was a good space between these grunts of his, though, so maybe he was just lifting extremely heavy weights. Well, she isn't going to find out by standing in front of a closed door.

And she has already seen Gajeel's penis and quite frankly wouldn't mind seeing it again. Or having that studded piece of meat in her again.

Lucy opened the door, seeing Gajeel sitting down on a weight bench, hunched slightly as he was lifting quite the surprising and impressive barbell. That is too say that there were three weights on both sides of the metal bar, each of the three weights being almost the size of a small child. Lucy already knew that Gajeel had strength that could leave any bodybuilder that wasn't a mage completely flabbergasted, but that barbell looked like something Laxus or Gildarts would be lifting. Though the rough grunts and gritted teeth were enough of an example that, even if he was lifting it with one arm, it was a hard effort for the Dragon Slayer. Though Lucy would admit that it looked hot as his bicep flexed with each lift of the weight, or that he was just plain shirtless, which is already hot enough on its own.

God, how many pheromones is she releasing?

Speaking of those pheromones, Gajeel must be smelling them as he made a very audible sniffing sound, the black-haired man turning his head from the barbell in his hand to Lucy. Gajeel had a face of surprise, though it quickly changed into a smile, one that looked like Gajeel didn't know if he wanted it to be a genuine smile or one of his usual smirks. Though there was still a noticeable bulge in Gajeel's pants, one that looked like it got bigger slightly. Gajeel was definitely getting a reaction from the pheromones Lucy must be giving off, and it will no doubt get worse if she doesn't look away or try to get all of Gajeel's many sexy aspects out of her head.

"Damn, Bunny, are ya tryin' to make me hump you senseless right here, right now?" Gajeel said as he rose to his feet, his naked chest glistened in sweat. As much as Lucy disliked sweat, for obvious reasons, she still found it to be something that only made the fire burning within her even hotter. And judging from Gajeel's reaction, she must have unwittingly hit the Iron Dragon Slayer with a wave of her sexual pheromones. Stupid, sexy Gajeel. Speaking of which, he quite honestly looked like he was putting his willpower to the test by not jumping her bones right now. "Jeez, Bunny, Lily's literally only a room away. Hell, it's not even a room. Do you want us to traumatise him with our sex or somethin'?"

Lucy couldn't help but smirk and laugh. At least it caused her heat and pheromones to die down. "Yeah right, like Lily is going to become traumatised from hearing and seeing us doing the hanky-panky. He's probably had sex, himself." The blonde Celestial Spirit summoner said. "Besides, with his long history as a general underneath Faust's command, I'm sure he has seen far more terrifying and traumatic things then the simple act of sex."

Gajeel couldn't help but smirk back at Lucy. "So you're sayin' that you're okay with us fucking when Lily can easily see and hear us?" The long-haired Dragon Slayer said as he began wiping his chest with a towel.

"N-No." Lucy responded, blushing madly at the implication. Sure she is more than okay with having sex with Gajeel, but she still had some of her dignity. Besides the thought of being heard or seen making love just felt embarrassing to her, she still had a sense of shyness to herself. "I-I was just making a point, Gajeel. I would prefer that we would do it later and in privacy."

Gajeel froze, becoming as still as a statue. The Iron Dragon Slayer turned his head towards Lucy slowly, before suddenly appearing right in front of her, his face mere inches from hers. "So you're in the mood for some, aren't ya, my horny bunny friend."

Lucy smiled back at Gajeel, her blush beginning to fade, though it still continued to exist on her cheeks as a light pink colour. "Only if you're patient, big boy." Lucy said, not even trying in the slightest to move her face further away from the Dragon Slayer's, nor did she try to move it closer. "I can easily just say no and we can get it on again another day, I have much better willpower than you do. Maybe I might even make you beg me for some sex."

Gajeel snorted in amusement. "Like you can make me beg, Bunny." Gajeel purred into Lucy's ear seductively, moving himself closer towards Lucy, his groin almost grinding against hers. "You don't seem like the dominative type. And I can make _you_ beg to me."

"I only don't come off as dominative because I choose not to." Lucy retorted to Gajeel. "Don't doubt what I can do."

"I can hear both of you, you know." Panther Lily called from the living room. Lucy's courage and bravado went away as she heard the Exceed speak his acknowledgement of her and Gajeel's conversation. Granted, she shouldn't be surprised as Panther Lily has a much greater hearing and sense of smell than most humans (at least those that aren't Dragon Slayers), but it still nevertheless caused her blush to re-emerge as a red blush that was like face paint applied over her cheeks. Gajeel snickered and laughed at the funny look of Lucy's face, even though he secretly found that it made her look cute.

"Has the cat, or should I say the Exceed, suddenly got yer tongue, Honey Bunny?" Gajeel remarked at the blushing Lucy.

Panther Lily flew down into the basement, not at all bothered by Gajeel's lack of a shirt or the fading smell of lust, landing down on Lucy's shoulder and sitting on the upper joint of her arm. "Are you ready now for some training?" Lily asked with his little arms crossed over his chest, his face looking less serious than usual, especially as the cheeky grin that he has started to develop in the past few weeks was starting to grow on him again. "Or do I need to give you two some privacy for a few minutes to release your hormones?"

"Bunny's kinda smellin' outta the mood right now, Lily, I don't think she wants to get busy right now anymore." Gajeel snickered as he put a black muscle shirt on, one which seemed to be a little loose on his body, much to arguing emotions of disappointment and relief from Lucy, though she was silent about both emotions. Gajeel put his hands on his hips, smiling at his friend with a sense of genuine interest. "What about you, Lucy? Do you want to train with us?"

Lucy was kind of surprised that Gajeel would ask her that question. Not that she felt offended, in fact she felt frilled that he would ask her that. When Lucy was a member of the now-disbanded Team Natsu, she, Natsu, Gray and Erza did train a lot (especially the latter three... a lot), but they didn't train together that much. There were times where they did train together, like when they were training for the Grand Magic Games until the Celestial Spirit King invited them to his realm and took away nearly three months of their time in on day. It wasn't a friendship-related thing, not training together, it was just a thing that happened. Plus, the reason why Lucy trained with her teammates the least was because they're ability-type wizards while she is a holder-type wizard; they train differently, ability-types hone their magic by regular training while holder-types mostly increase their magic power through meditation.

"Hey, Bunny, are you still there?" Gajeel asked as he waved his hand in front of Lucy's face to break her out of her daydream. Lucy blinked rapidly as she came back to reality, seeing Gajeel standing in front of her with a confused face while Lily was flying near them with a look of slight concern on his face.

"Sorry, I was just a little surprised and I got caught up in my head." Lucy responded with a slight laugh to calm her two male teammates down, giving them a kind smile. "I wouldn't mind training with you two."

"But wait, don't holder-type mages like Celestial Spirit Mages train a little differently from the regular ability-type mage?" Panther Lily asked as he continued to fly in front of Lucy. His question wasn't with malice or anything else of the sort, but concern that there may be a huge difference in training between him and Gajeel and her because of how different their magics are. "Would it make our training become complicated?"

"Don't worry, Lily, I have done a lot of training with ability-types before; our training won't become complicated in the slightest." Lucy replied in a calm and happy manner, petting the cat-like entity on the head. Panther Lily felt relieved at the information, he hasn't trained with a holder-type mage before and he didn't know about any specific differences between them and ability-types like him when it came to magic training. He didn't want for anything that he didn't know about their differences to hurt his friendship and partnership with Lucy. Lily smiled at his friend, a slight purr coming from him thanks to his cat-like instincts. "So where are we training?"

Gajeel smiled at Lucy, she clearly has had enough experience in training with ability-type mages to know that they usually have to train in wide outside areas, since training in a small inside area, like the basement or a house, would cause damage. "Lucky for you, Bunny, Lily 'n I have a great area for training." The Iron Dragon Slayer said.

Lucy's eyes had seemingly lit up in response. "So where is it?" She asked.

"Yer gonna have to follow us there." Gajeel answered, grinning at Lucy. "But I must warn ya, it's a long walk."

Lucy snorted in amusement. "I'm sure I can handle it."

* * *

Gajeel and Lily were walking for a long while, maybe even hours as they weren't keeping track of time, until they finally reached their location. It was a meadow; a vast, green land of lush grass and vegetation. There was gentle breeze, not strong enough to cause anyone to feel a chill, but still strong enough to fight against the heat of the sun, the many wooden arms of the many trees swaying and ruffling slightly from the breeze's gentle push. The sun floated high in a blue atmosphere, long and thin clouds floated by, creating moving shades that went across the ground, yet they weren't too huge to ruin the beauty of the grass. Bird chirps floated along the wind, emphasizing the tranquillity of the grassland.

Panther Lily quite enjoyed the area, it is far more calm and quiet than the guild, and a lack of sound was useful for him, as it made it easier for him to focus on his training. Of course he can always adapt and train in loud area, but he still preferred the tranquil nature of the grassland overall. Gajeel didn't care much about the tranquil nature of the area, but it still had a lot of space for him to practise his magic, so it was alright in his book.

"So whaddaya think, Bunny?" Gajeel asked as he looked at the lush land that he had grown familiar with (or at least familiar to training in), turning his head around slightly to look at the blonde as she walked slowly from behind them, hunching forward as her arms hanged limply, panting in exhaustion.

"I feel like my feet are going to fall off and die." Lucy moaned, not prepared for the miles that she had just walked. Gajeel turned around as Lucy slumped against him, the man wrapping his arms around her slightly to stop her from falling off and falling down (despite how comical it would be).

"Well that's how long Lily 'n I walk to here whenever we train, so you're gonna havta get used to it if you wanna start training with us." Gajeel said as he helped Lucy sit down next to a rock. "'Sides, this isn't even a warm up for our training."

"It's okay if you want to rest and regain your energy before changing." Panther Lily said to Lucy in a calm and sympathetic, putting one of his small paws on her arm.

Lucy nodded in acknowledgment, the blonde watching as Gajeel and Panther Lily walked a distance from her, most likely to not accidently hurt her whilst training. Lily transformed into his Battle Mode and grabbed hold of his Musica Sword, the aforementioned magical weapon growing in size until the blade was twice his size, though he was still able to hold the sword with his two hands with little effort. Gajeel smirked at his teammate, merely raising an arm and gesturing Lily to attack with his hand. Without a second thought, Lily swung the large sword towards Gajeel. The usually loutish Dragon Slayer armoured his forearm with iron scales, using the forearm to protect himself from the blade.

Panther Lily smirked, flying forward and punching Gajeel in the gut. Gajeel made a grunt of pain, his hands moving towards the hit area. Panther Lily pulled his sword back, preparing to swing it back at Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer smirked as the magical sword was heading towards him from his cat, grabbing hold of the blade, much to the surprise of an incredulous Exceed. Despite how sharp the blade was, to cut through armour, not even an iota of blood dripped from Gajeel's palm, the man protected by his unique magic.

"Shoulda thought that it would take much more than that to make me stop fightin'." Gajeel said as he kicked Lily in the face. Lucy gasped in shock, she knew that training between the two males would probably be rough, but she never suspected anything quite like that. Lucy was almost about to run to the cat-like entity and see if he was okay, but he had already managed to somersault and land like nothing happened. Lily turned his head back up and looked back at Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer tossing Lily's magical sword back towards the Exceed (as he relied more on himself than weapons), smiling almost competitively at his teammate as they went back to training.

The two were sparring, with Gajeel deciding to protect himself with his iron scales completely, which caused Lily to increase his attacks in quantity and power. Lucy almost felt her breath move away as she watched them; it was almost like a precise dance that was choreographed to be perfect, like they had strings being pulled by the most delicate of puppeteers. Their two bodies moved like they could predict each other's moves, trying new tricks whilst also trying to improve their old cards.

It was disorder and accordance, it was a sign of how used they had became to training with each other throughout days that passed.

But, alas, that dance of a strange beauty had ended abruptly as, in a literal puff of smoke, Panther Lily had turned back into his smaller form that he adopted upon coming to Earth Land, his little body staying in mid-air before he was remembered by gravity and landed on his hind.

"I guess my battle time is up." Panther Lily commented as he looked at his little paws. The Musica Sword shrunk back down into its small size, Lily picked it up before growing angelic on his back, the panther-like being proceeding to use the wings the fly into the air until he was on an equal eye level as Gajeel. Panther Lily held his sword high, increasing its size as far as he could while still being able to hold it with his small body, a glint of determination flashing in his eyes. His and Gajeel's training wasn't over with just yet. "But don't think that I'm out of spirit just yet."

Gajeel looked all but elated at Panther Lily, his iron scales disappearing. "Your fighting spirit is one of the reasons why you're my cat." The Dragon Slayer said as he took a battle stance, ready and eager for Lily's next move.

Panther Lily flew towards Gajeel, his Musica Sword only one half bigger than the regular sword, swinging the sword at Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer dodging the attacking blade with a backflip. Lucy continued to watch as the two continued to spar, though it was obviously not as thrilling or exciting to watch as earlier then before, mostly because Lily can only remain in his battle mode for a limited amount of time. The blonde could feel her energy return and adrenaline run through her veins. Without really realising it, Lucy had rose to her feet and her body began moving like she was trying to dance without moving her feet.

Lucy felt a warmth at the side of her hip, the blonde looking down at the source of the heat, seeing a golden and silver glow coming from Celestial Spirit keys, Zodiac and regular respectively. Obviously her spirits have sensed her renewed energy and zest, because of their connection with her from their contracts, and now probably want to be summoned. Maybe her enthusiasm towards training and fighting and using magic has spread onto her Celestial Spirits because of their connection. Lucy noticed that most of the glowing and warmth of magic power was coming form her Zodiac Celestial Spirit keys, even the shy and usually timid Aries had her key glowing. In fact, the only golden key that wasn't glowing was Loke's.

Lucy frowned, knowing that this was a result of the Celestial Spirit King locking the lion constellation's gate until he calmed down, an exhausted and annoyed sigh coming from the summoner shortly thereafter. " _By the time he stops being grouchy about my sex life and can come back into this world, I'll be covered in wrinkles and saggy and what little that remains of my hair will as grey as ash._ " Lucy thought in miserable annoyance as she held the golden key tight between her thumb and index finger before putting it back with the rest of the collection. Damn stubborn spirits.

"Hey, is somethin' wrong, Bunny?" Gajeel asked, the Iron Dragon Slayer and Panther Lily (who was looking visibly exhausted, since he isn't used to fighting in his small form and has been fighting for entire minutes without rest... not that the same fact affected Gajeel much). Gajeel looked at Lucy with his usual stoic expression, though there was some sympathy and worry in his eyes, the man crouching down in front of the Celestial Spirit summoner. "You've been looking kinda in a bad mood and starin' at Loke's key. Is something wrong?"

"Uh-no, Gajeel, no." Lucy responded, quickly getting back up on her feet (even though Gajeel was definitely okay with her sitting down against the rock) and standing upright (she just has to ignore the minor orthostatic hypotension).

Gajeel knew that Lucy is definitely upset about still being unable to summon her strongest spirit, because that spirit has problems with her having sex with him despite that same spirit basically being a womanizer. Gajeel felt a little guilty for these upset feelings that Lucy had, as even though he loved having sex with her, he also valued her happiness as she is not only a teammate but one of the few people who have managed to get close to him. But the same thing was that he still loves having sex with her and wouldn't stop because one of Lucy's spirits was acting like an immature child. Still though, because of both these feelings of guilt and because he cares for Lucy's happiness, he should do something to help Lucy forget about these feelings and her little problem with Celestial Spirits (or at least just _a_ Celestial Spirit).

"Hey, Bunny, do you wanna train with me now? You're looking refuelled on energy and Lily here needs to rest, himself." Gajeel said. Instantly, Lucy's eyes lit up and Gajeel's heart skipped a beat; he didn't know he could feel so happy.

"I would be more than happy to train with you." Lucy said, grabbing hold of one of her keys and pulling it from her usual key ring, making a small swishing sound as it cut through the air. The golden Celestial Spirit key made a glimmer at the tip from the sun in the nearly cloudless sky.

Gajeel grinned at the enthusiasm in Lucy's eyes, a reflection of her eager spirit to fight. The Iron Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit mage walked to where the former and Panther Lily sparred, the aforementioned Exceed sitting by the rock that Lucy had sat down next to earlier.

"You sure you're ready, Bunny?" Gajeel asked with a grin, eagerness in both his voice and smile.

Lucy grinned back at Gajeel, pressing the golden key in her hand against her chest. "Star Dress: Capricorn!" Lucy yelled, a golden light coming from her chest, the same light beginning to grow and cover her body, the blonde changed into the goat Star Dress. Lucy continued to hold Capricorn's key, holding it in front of her, pointing it up towards the sky. Lucy mumbled some words under her breath, though it wasn't hard to infer what those quiet words were, especially as the key that she is holding in her hands began to glow with magic. The sound of a doorbell ringing was heard as a glow of light appeared behind Lucy, the light dispersing to reveal Capricorn (unsurprisingly), the humanoid spirit bowing down respectfully behind his master and summoner. "Loke may be my strongest spirit, but Capricorn is the one and only spirit that excels pass him in combat. Furthermore, this Star Dress gives me combat intuition; all of Capricorn's skills in fighting and combat are now possessed by me as long as I wear this dress with his power."

"It is always an honour to help you, Lady Lucy." Capricorn said in an impassive yet respectful tone, smiling at his blonde master. "And it is especially an honour to help you with your skill and magic power. I know that Lady Layla has passed away, but she would be proud of you if she saw this magnificent young madam you have metamorphosed into."

"Thank you, Capricorn." Lucy said happily, giving the aforementioned Celestial Spirit a wink and a thumbs up before turning back towards her teammate in front of her. "You better beware, because you will be fighting against... Gajeel...? Are you drooling?"

Gajeel is, in fact, drooling at the sight of Lucy. Even if he had already seen her in that dress, it didn't change that he still loves the sight that it made with her body; the plumpness of her breasts becoming emphasized and her beautiful, long legs being completely uncovered. He would be smiling at the shy look on her face if he wasn't to distracted by the sight of her body, her sudden shyness and desire to cover her breasts with the cutest blush on her face making Gajeel almost wanting to pounce her. The sunlight didn't help in how amazing it made her look, making her features clear.

Capricorn stood in front of Lucy, his brow scrunched and Gajeel could even feel angry eyes from behind the black sunglasses that the Celestial Spirit is always seen wearing. "I know that I may not be a feline or a Dragon Slayer, but I can still recognise certain pheromones." Capricorn said, his words making Lucy fall down in embarrassment behind him. Whenever Capricorn was aware of what his master just did or not, he didn't show it. "I know that other spirits, like Virgo and Gemini, may be more supportive of your current relationship with Lady Lucy, however I still made a promise to Lady Layla that any possible suitor of Lady Lucy's will meet all expectations before he has the right to court her."

Both Gajeel and Lucy were left spluttering in response to what Capricorn said, Lily laughed at his friends' reactions from where he sat and watched.

Lucy weakly rose to her knees, not knowing where she was able to find the strength or will power to continue standing up after something like that was said. What is it with everyone believing that sex and a close friendship automatically means that two people are in love? Gajeel and her are just humans and have natural urges that they help each other out with. "Lets please focus more on the training and less on what Gajeel and I willingly do, okay?" Lucy asked with a voice that was of a slightly higher pitch, her feelings of embarrassment about someone mentioning her sex life (which is embarrassing in any form unless it is pillow talk) blowing helium into her voice box. She was silently praying to any deity that was willingly lending its ear to her to stop this awkward moment.

"My apologies, Lady Lucy." Capricorn said with his usual tone of respectful impassiveness, turning around and bowing towards Lucy. He didn't say even a single 'sorry' towards Gajeel (the aforementioned Dragon Slayer starting to regain his wits), but at least he wasn't requesting to be punished. Man, does she have a lot of weird spirits or what?

"Alright, Bunny, I'm takin' you both on. An' don't think that I'll hold back 'cause you're a girl or my teammate or my friend with benefits." Gajeel said, raising his fists into a fighting position. While Gajeel was definitely serious about fighting with Lucy, as it is part of the training, it was still hard to get her shapely body, especially since she is standing in front of him, off his mind, and how the Star Dress that she is wearing was complimenting her tremendously. Gajeel could feel two holes being basically burned into him from Capricorn's eyes, once again.

Lucy's spirits don't like him that much, don't they.

In the blink of an eye, Lucy was in front of Gajeel, the blonde aiming a swing kick towards the raven-haired man. Gajeel blocked the blonde's kick with his forearm, seeing Capricorn appear at his side through his peripherals. Gajeel made a lurch backwards, the Dragon Slayer backflipping and dodging as the goat humanoid tried to punch him. By the time Gajeel was back on both of his feet, he still had little time to react or think as the Zodiac Celestial Spirit and his summoner (whom was imbued with his magic from the dress she was wearing) began to continue their pursuit against him. Gajeel turned both of his forearms into iron poles and crossed them in front of him, using them as shields against the oncoming fists and feet towards him.

Panther Lily had watched in interest, almost like what Lucy had did when the feline was fighting-training with Gajeel. Of course the two (or three, as Capricorn was present and helping Lucy) had never trained together before, thus they couldn't predict each other's movements as well as Panther Lily and Gajeel could. Nevertheless it was still an enjoyable sight to see, even if Panther Lily could easily list many other fights and battles (including ones that he himself had participated in) that he was more thrilled by.

It didn't change that Panther Lily still felt impressed by what he saw, especially as Gajeel turned one of his iron pole forearms into a giant blade and aimed it down upon Lucy and Capricorn (without fatal intentions, of course. No damage was intended to be serious or lasting; he was certain that she could survive and heal as long as he didn't go overboard), the former of the two somersaulting backwards and dodging the attack like an elegant and acrobatic dancer.

Capricorn rolled to the side, away from the Iron Dragon's Blade, the goat-like Celestial Spirit quickly back onto his feet, his stern expression still on his face. Gajeel tried to kick Capricorn in the stomach, but the Celestial Spirit parried the oncoming foot with his hand. Lucy appeared behind Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer looking back and noticing her a little too late as she had already socked him in the face with her fist. Gajeel made a grunt of pain as he staggered backwards, looking away as he covered the area of his face with his hand. Lucy was almost worried that she may have hit Gajeel too hard, but that worry had melted as he looked at her with an excited smile.

Despite his aloof demeanour, Gajeel was definitely someone that loved a good battle. Especially since this battle was more for the purpose of training.

"That was a good hit, Bunny." Gajeel said, aiming a punch towards Lucy, which was blocked by Capricorn, the protective spirit in front of his master in seconds. Gajeel felt a little mad that the Celestial Spirit had gotten in his way, but at the same time, there was a small part of him in the back of his mind that was more than happy that the goat spirit had gotten in his way and stopped him from hurting Lucy.

* * *

Gajeel and Lucy had their backs against a tree, the many leaves attached the fingers of the trunks creating a shade that protected them from the sun, useful as they were both sweating and feeling hot from their training and needed the shade to cool down. Capricorn had returned to the Celestial Spirit World a few minutes ago, though his parting words were that he would return soon to help Lucy with the rest of her training, and Lucy was back into her clothes that she wore before activating the Star Dress spell.

A sigh of relief was between Lucy's small gasps of air, knowing that what she was wearing _them_ again underneath her red pants; that they returned after disappearing from her Star Dress.

The sun was still high up in the sky, even though it was definitely no longer in the morning, it was still far from sunset. Lucy's heartbeat began to calm down and she no longer felt like she was being cooked by Natsu (way too many experiences of Natsu accidently hitting her with fire or heating up water that she is having a bath in had given her enough of an idea of what it was like), the blonde looking at the muscular male sitting next to her. Gajeel was looking at the sky, a distant look in his red eyes, like he was deep in thought.

Lucy's ears picked up the sound of light footsteps coming towards her and Gajeel, the Celestial Spirit mage looking to see Panther Lily approaching her. "That was quite a session you both had. It looks like both of you can't train anymore." Panther Lily commented as he approached the two, almost sitting down until a giant flash of light appeared behind him. Memories of lightning strikes flashed in Panther Lily's mind, like the same element that he has a fear of, the astraphobic cat entering his Battle Mode and pulling out his Musica Sword as he turned around, acting less on thought and more on instinct. While Lily's body was shaking like he was in cold weather at first, he began to calm down and become still as he realised that it was Capricorn, the Zodiac Celestial Spirit having summoned himself.

Panther Lily calmed down as he lowered his sword from where it pointed towards Capricorn, the Celestial Spirit unflinching from the weapon. Lily made his Musica Sword shrink back into regular size, the Exceed's own size and muscles shrinking as he returned to his regular form. "Your magic training isn't over just yet, Lady Lucy." Capricorn said in a usual calm voice as his mouth was a straight line. Gajeel rolled his eyes towards the goat-like entity, wondering how he was able to stand effortlessly with his hands folded behind him after what just happened. Even if he returned to the Celestial Spirit World, Gajeel heard that time is meant to be much slower there than in Earth Land. Damn spirits must be made of steel that could break Gajeel's teeth(!). "Don't forget that you still need to do your meditation."

"Oh right, my meditation." Lucy exclaimed with wide eyes, mentally criticizing herself for forgetting what was basically the most important aspect of a Celestial Spirit mage's training. Lucy got up onto her feet, only for a powerful invisible force to suddenly push her back onto the ground and slam her back against the tree behind her. This force was Lucy's exhaustion. "Sorry, Capricorn, but could you please let me rest for a minute or two, I can't meditate when groggy."

Capricorn looked a Lucy, his mouth in a thin and straight line. Lucy almost felt tense under his gaze, she knows that Capricorn loves her (platonically speaking), but he can be very serious and strict when it comes to her increasing and developing her magic power. And he doesn't hold back for her either.

"Very well then, I will give you a few more minutes to rest." Capricorn said calmly, disappearing back into his dimension in a flash of light. It was most likely because he had a limited time in Earth Land, even if he comes from his own power instead of Lucy's. He was probably also conserving his magic power by not keeping his gate open. And with how much slower time is in the Celestial Spirit World, he would only have to wait for a few seconds at the most. Lucy rolled her eyes, even if Capricorn is one of her personal favourites of her Celestial Spirits, he could still be very impatient at times.

Lucy just sighed and leaned back against the tree behind her, her exhaustion making the rough bark feel like a comfy bed. Maybe she can sneak in a small nap before Capricorn returns; she has been really testing herself today. You know what they say: no pain, no gain.

Lucy let her head slump to the side, seeing Gajeel looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Great, looks like she couldn't sneak in a nap. "What's your question, Gaj?" Lucy asked, her brown eyes seeing in her peripherals as Panther Lily walked and stood beside Gajeel, though she mostly focussed on the aforementioned Dragon Slayer's face.

"I don't get what is so important about meditating." Gajeel said, at least he wasn't rude as he spoke. "Doesn't sound too important or exhausting, is it really essential to making you stronger."

"Meditation _is_ an important and exhausting process in increasing magical power and energy, as long as you do it right." Lucy said, forgetting about her exhaustion and sitting on her legs as she shifted her body around to face the Iron Dragon Slayer completely. "It's a process that is used much more by holder-type mages than ability-type mages, mostly because we holder-types rely more on objects for our magic, so we have to find alternative ways to increase our magic power. The meditation requires intense concentration, you have to focus deep on your magic power. If you do it right, you expand the amount of magic power in your body, but it does also cause one to become greatly exhausted, like this battle we just had."

A flash of light appeared in front of the tree that shaded Gajeel, Lucy and Lily with the ring of a doorbell, signalling Capricorn's arrival. "I apologise if I have came too early, but Sir Leo kept on pestering me with demands, mostly related with hitting and punching Sir Gajeel because of his relationship with you, Lady Lucy." Capricorn said calmly. "I feared that if I didn't go somewhere that he couldn't follow, I would have punched and hit _him_."

"I understand, Capricorn. I guess I still have a long time to wait until I can summon Loke again." Lucy said as she walked out of the shade, thankful that she had cooled down from her training earlier, as well as that there was still the cool breeze of the air to stop her from feeling irritation from the heat. Lucy sat down cross-legged, her back up straight, her arms stretched out and the pads of her thumbs and index fingers pressing against each other. Lucy looked at Gajeel and Lily as the two males watched her from underneath the tree, the blonde smiling invitingly towards them. "Do you wish to meditate with me?"

Gajeel was surprised by Lucy's question; he did feel a little warmth in his heart that she wanted him to join her, but he was sure that she knew him enough that he wouldn't want to meditate. Not only did he not believe that the whole meditation thing would work, but it sounded boring to him. However, before he knew it, Gajeel saw Lily join Lucy by her side, sitting down cross-legged in the meditation position. Gajeel could feel Lucy, Panther Lily and Capricorn's eyes on him, looking at him with the expectation for him to join. Gajeel let out a little angry growl, knowing that he had no real option or way out of this. So, reluctantly, Gajeel sat down on the other side of Lucy that Panther Lily was sitting to, taking part in this dumb meditation shit.

"Focus. Close your eyes. Take deep breaths. Clear your mind." Capricorn said as he circled around the three Fairy Tail, his hands once again folded behind him. Gajeel grumbled but did as the Celestial Spirit said anyways, mostly because he could see in his peripherals that Lucy was. Even with the darkness (caused by him closing his eyes) and the clearing of his mind, Gajeel could still hear Capricorn as the goat-like entity walked around him and the others continuously. "Your magic is a pool of water, it is a pool of water for all; it always starts off as a puddle, but enough concentration, focus and hard work can make that puddle grow into an ocean. Meditation can help you widen and deepen your current pool into an ocean, even those that don't naturally have magical abilities can grow to gain magic if they meditate."

" _What the hell is he talkin' about?!_ " Gajeel mentally yelled, even as he kept his eyes closed and continued to take deep breaths. He inhaled and exhaled with quiet and shallow breaths, hopefully that is how he is meant to do it, because it sounds like that is what Lucy and Lily are doing, and Capricorn isn't yelling at him or getting angry about him doing it wrong, so he must be doing it right. Though maybe the hoofed creature instructing him about this meditation shit can't hear breathing as good as the Iron Dragon Slayer did.

Then again, he was able to detect the pheromones Gajeel was letting out when he saw Lucy in her Capricorn Star Dress in the sunlight.

"You must continue this process until you leave your body and enter your pool of magic. Everyone's pool of magic is different and depends on what their specific magic is, this is how some regular humans that meditate to achieve magic are able to figure out what their magic is." Capricorn said, his voice so drawling that Gajeel could almost fall asleep. The Dragon Slayer wasn't sure if he was tired or the whole meditation thing was working, because he was starting to lose feeling in his body. "You must recognise and accept your magic pool when you enter it, that is the only way that you're able to expand that pool and your magic power in general."

Despite the feelings of boredom that made him feel frustrated, Gajeel continued the breathing technique. Eventually the sounds of Lucy and Lily's breathing, the tweets of the birds, the sounds of Capricorn's hooves and voice began to grow quiet, until Gajeel could no longer hear them entirely. Nor could he feel the sun on his back, the breeze against his skin, the grass and ground underneath his body. Gajeel slowly slid one of his eyes open, taking a peep at what happened to the world around him. Both of Gajeel's eyes opened and were wide, the Dragon Slayer seeing that he was no longer in Earth Land. At least he presumed that he was no longer in Earth Land, since this place sure as hell didn't look like it was a part of the planet.

The sky was covered by massive black clouds, how Gajeel was able to see the rest of the area around him, even with his eyesight, was beyond him. The ground was a terrain of black, jagged rocks, large iron poles stuck out of the ground, chains of iron stretched and reached out from one pole to another. Many weapons of pitch-black steel hung from the chains, connected to the metal rings. From giant swords, to spiked maces, to battle-axes, to saw blades and many different weapons, all used by hand and made of iron.

"Well this is definitely my magic pool, that's for sure." Gajeel mumbled in a deadpan manner as he looked around the area, seeing if there was somewhere that he was meant to go to. Gajeel then spotted a giant cave in the distance, the iron poles were at least a noticeable distance away form the cave. Gajeel felt a certain feeling to go to the cave, maybe it had something important in this whole 'increase magic power through meditation' thing. Gajeel shrugged, knowing there was no point in resisting. "Lets get this weird experience over with."

Gajeel walked past the pillars of iron and the many weapons made completely of the same element that were attached to them (even though he did think that they looked delicious, though even he knew that they most likely weren't real since he's in his magic pool), going closer and closer to the cave until it was absolutely towering over him, its shadow already going over him a metres ago. If this cave is housing something, its either something gigantic or an entire freakin' town.

A loud rumble came from the cave, creating powerful vibrations that shook the ground beneath Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer was thankful that his motion sickness didn't apply here. Other rumbles - quieter, yet still incredibly loud - suddenly came in rapid quantity, each becoming louder and closer than the last. Something gigantic was indeed coming from the cave, it wasn't coming at a quick speed, but it was still coming. Gajeel prepared himself, turning one of his arms into and iron pole as he took a battle position; if he had to fight something in here then you wouldn't have to tell him twice (though the actual possibility, in a zone that is meant to be a representation of his own magic, was unlikely, not that he was fully aware).

A dragon came out of the cave, fitting as Gajeel's magic is Dragon Slayer Magic. It was gigantic and muscular, its scales made of iron and surrounding seemingly every nook and cranny of its body. Each shoulder had a muscular wing attached to it, its eyes were an absolute crimson, its teeth were large, sharp and as white as a pearl. There were giant blades, like those of swords, that protruded from its spine and started to become smaller and smaller as they started to go to the dragon's tail, eventually shrinking down to the size of dagger's blade, and even then to a knife's blade, yet still retaining a dynamic sharpness.

Most people would either be running away with their arms flailing and screaming in fear at the sight of the dragon, or be paralyzed in awe at the sight of the mighty-looking creature. But Gajeel isn't like most people, he's a goddamn Dragon Slayer and a human that eats iron like it's a regular food. A dragon covered in iron scales is basically - if not literally - the very thing that he was trained by Metalicana to kill since his childhood. It would be murder of his pride to run away from this dragon, and a painful and horrible murder, at that.

"Gajeel Redfox." The dragon said, its voice rumbling with a small echo. Gajeel didn't flinch upon hearing the dragon say his name, but he did leave his battle position and turn his transformed arm back to normal. There was something about the dragon's tone of voice that told Gajeel that he wouldn't have to battle against the creature (even though he honestly had no problems with fighting the dragon). "I have been with you for many years, Black Steel. I have been with you before you could even talk or eat your first piece of iron. I am your inner dragon; I am the living embodiment of your magic and my name is really no different from your own. As I possess no name of my own, you can just refer to me as Dragon."

Dragon was not kindly in his tone as he spoke. In fact, if anything, he was a little demanding. Gajeel did not take well to Dragon's tone. There are only two people in the whole world that are allowed to demand Gajeel to do something: Metalicana and Makarov. The first because he's Gajeel's only known parent (not that he would ever admit it out loud), the second because he's his Guild Master (as ashamed of it as he is, Jose had the same control over Gajeel back then that Makarov has now, for the exact same reason).

Gajeel turned one of his arms into an Iron Dragon's Sword, and swung it towards Dragon. The giant, metal creature didn't flinch at the giant sword swinging towards him, in fact he gave out a tired and annoyed sigh. In the blink of an eye, Gajeel's transformed arm turned back to normal, the black-haired Dragon Slayer looking at his own arm in surprise.

"What the...?!" Gajeel said as he looked down at his arm in surprise. Gajeel tried to transform his arm back into an iron weapon, however he found that the command wouldn't work. The Iron Dragon Slayer tried to use his magic again, however nothing happened at all. It was like his magic was turned off, at least to the extent that he couldn't make dragon iron come from his body, or something else of the like.

"You cannot use your magic against me, dumbass. I basically am your magic." Dragon said, looking down at the Dragon Slayer in front of him in mild annoyance. Dragon turned around and walked back into his cave, torches connected to the walls of the cave becoming set alight as Dragon walked deeper and further in, the giant, iron-scaled reptilian creature stopping and looking back at Gajeel. "Follow me, your meditation won't end by standing there and gawking at your arm."

Gajeel looked up from his arm and towards Dragon, who is also his own inner dragon, the giant creature still looking back at him before resuming to go deeper into the cave. Gajeel growled in anger, wanting to give Dragon a real ass kicking. However, Dragon has seemingly disabled Gajeel's magic (because he's his inner dragon, which means that he has some sort of connection to Gajeel's magic), and even Gajeel knew that he had no hope of defeating a dragon without the help of his Dragon Slayer Magic. So Gajeel followed after Dragon begrudgingly, hoping for this weird experience to be done with.

The cave entrance went on forever, seemingly. Gajeel was almost certain that Dragon was only making him follow the creature for the entire experience, however the two then entered a bigger area of the cave. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, there was a massive pile of gold coins, rubies and treasures underneath the stalactites. Dragon walked towards the pile and curled his body down on the coins and rubies, the giant creature not taking his crimson eyes off of Gajeel.

Gajeel looked at the rest of the cave, seeing very little of other interest. Then he spotted something on the walls; there were portraits of his friends and moments in his life. One was of him when he was particularly young, Metalicana was by his side, lying down on the grass, one of the iron dragon's wings raised above Gajeel and acting as an umbrella that protected the young Dragon Slayer from the rain, the words 'Father' etched into the bottom of the portrait's wooden frame. There was another one next to it, showing a grumpy and bored Gajeel sitting at a table, in the (then) new Fairy Tail building, after it rebuilt from the destruction he brought to it, the words 'New Guild' etched into the frame's bottom.

There was another, Gajeel was wearing sunglasses and wore a white suit with a white hat, a guitar in his hand and a spotlight shinning down on him. It seemed like this portrait took place when he was still in Phantom Lord, and that was purely because he could see Jose in the painting's background, a comical expression on the old man's face as his eyes were as wide as saucers and his jaw was hanging comically low. Like every other portrait in the cave, this one had words etched into the bottom, these words being 'First Song'.

There was one of him crying tears of joy as he hugged a small Panther Lily in the rain. 'New Cat'. One of him and Levy dancing in fancy get-up after the Grand Magic Games. 'Dance'. The Fantasia parade that managed to happen after Laxus decided to become a megalomaniac and try to take over the guild. 'Fantasia'. A moment back when he and Levy were still a couple, the two happily at a beach. 'Beach Date'. Lucy standing triumphantly around many unconscious and beaten mages, the emblem of Wendigo Skull noticeable on some of them. 'Awesome First Mission Together'. Him and Lily sitting at a table in the guild, with him shaking hands with Bunny. 'New Team'.

Gajeel stared in awe at the portraits that decorated the cavern's walls, recognising them all as moments that have happened in his life. Then he saw a portrait that looked different from the others, in many ways. This portrait was gigantic, and unlike the other portraits, which all had a wooden frame, this portrait had a golden frame surrounding the painting. It was placed behind the pile of coins and jewels that Dragon sat on, the inner dragon looking at the portrait like he was in love with the image that it held.

The image in question was Lucy. It wasn't from a memory, at least it didn't seem like it was from a memory. She was stunningly laying down on a purple fabric that acted as the background for the painting, dressed in a beautiful white dress that was transparent, the only thing stopping he private parts from showing in the painting being the white lace panties and bra she was wearing. One arm was slung over her head while the other reached out towards the other side of the painting, almost like she was trying to beckon the viewer of the painting towards her. She had a soft and loving smile on her face, her brown eyes shining and her hair long and free. She looked beautiful, a divine image beyond words and definitions.

Even Dragon was entranced by the image in the portrait, the metal creature looking at the painting of Lucy lovingly. And on the bottom of the portrait, written in gold instead of etched into the frame, was the words 'Mine'.

Gajeel snapped out of his little trance created by the beautiful portrait in golden frame, shaking his head from side to side so fast that it was almost like a blur. Gajeel stopped shaking his head, closed his eyes and gritted his teeth and slammed the palms of his hands against the sides of his head repeatedly. Dragon could hear and sense the actions of the Dragon Slayer that he is a part of, the reptilian beast moving his eyes away from the portrait and towards the human, a little sigh of annoyance escaping the creature as he rolled his eyes.

Or at least it kind of seemed like he rolled his eyes, though Gajeel wasn't looking at him anyways so it probably doesn't matter much anyways.

"You know, trying to damage your brain is something that is far better left undone." Dragon said in a calm yet bored voice, catching the attention of Gajeel. Dragon folded his arms and leaned forward towards Gajeel, his giant snout covered in metal scales inches away from the Dragon Slayer's face. "After all, you barely have any brain cells as it is. If you damage your brain further, you'll be dumber than an idiot."

"Hey!" Gajeel yelled angrily in indignation, the Iron Dragon Slayer slamming a fist down on Dragon's snout in an attempt to punch. Usually, Gajeel's fists can break through powerful armour without damaging or hurting the skin or flesh of his hand. However, when his fist slammed against Dragon's nose, he had to hold back the yelp of pain that came running up his throat. Gajeel's teeth were clenched shut, his last attempt to keep that scream from escaping, as he looked at his knuckle, temporarily red with bleeding cuts. Of course, as this wasn't really physical, the cuts closed and the blood and redness of the skin were seemingly absorbed back into the knuckle.

But that didn't change the sting of pain that continued to linger. Chuckles came from Dragon as he tried to hold back from laughing at the human in front of him. "Did you seriously forget who I am? Oh, how I have been too kind and forgiving towards you whenever I doubted your idiocy." Dragon said, causing Gajeel to give him a sour look. "It's honestly a pain and an annoyance to be with you throughout your entire life, but these moments of tomfoolery and general idiotic moments are what makes it all worth it."

Gajeel growled at Dragon as flung his hand from side to side limply. "Alright, I didn't fucking meditate myself here to get insulted by you, oversized bunch of scrap!" Gajeel yelled at Dragon, pointing his finger towards the mental entity. "And what the hell is with all of these damn paintings here?! You plannin' on opening an art gallery or somethin'?!"

Dragon let out a little snort in response to Gajeel's questions. "If I were to ever open an art gallery, it wouldn't be here, within you. The only other people that would get to see the paintings would be other aspects and parts of you. And philistines are, by definition, incapable of truly enjoying fine art." Dragon said, almost looking amused before giving Gajeel a stern look. "And it is not my claws that painted these pictures, it was your fingers and heart that made them. These portraits are purely the unforgettable memories of your life that you hold close to your heart."

Gajeel was startled by the explanation, though it did make sense as a lot of the paintings in these portraits were of some of his fondest moments in his life. But that still didn't make sense of _that_. "Then why the hell is there a painting of Lucy like that over there?" Gajeel demanded an answer of as he pointed to the golden portrait of Lucy that hung behind Dragon. "I have never seen Bunny Girl like that ever before. I mean, I sure would love to, but that still doesn't make sense."

"Lucy...!" Dragon purred as he looked back at the portrait of the blonde-haired Celestial Spirit mage, a gentle little smile on his face as he looked at her. Dragon's soft features, however, disappeared as he turned his head back to look at Gajeel. "There are certain things that I cannot tell you, Black Steel. Certain dragon laws and concepts that your primitive human minds cannot comprehend forbid me from telling you. As much as it annoys me, as much as I want to tell you so we can be with _her_ , I have to let you figure out for yourself."

"What?!" Gajeel outburst in anger, if he was still able to cast his spells in here he would give Dragon an Iron Dragon's Roar to the face. "You're not just gonna cop out of telling me why that portrait of Bunny Girl is there!"

"You will not always find the answers by yelling at others!" Dragon roared angrily at Gajeel, almost causing fear in the man for a second. "You should feel honoured for an experience like this. Your magic is a Slayer type of magic, thus I exist in your pool of magic. Most other mages that meditate to enter further into their magic pools don't get to have such an experience and search of self! You should show respect for this privilege you have undergone!"

Dragon suddenly inhaled a massive volume of air, like he was going to perform a Roar spell. A giant beam of air suddenly shot out of Dragon's mouth, causing Gajeel to close his eyes. A rush of power and energy suddenly flowed through Gajeel, like he just suddenly became stronger. However, the Iron Dragon Slayer couldn't revel in this new power as a wave of exhaustion suddenly rushed over him and it felt like every muscle in his body was screaming pain.

Gajeel opened his eyes, finding himself back in his meditation position in the meadow. Capricorn was standing in front of Gajeel, his body position to that the left side of his body was facing the Dragon Slayer, meaning that he was circling around him when he opened his eyes. The Celestial Spirit stopped and looked at Gajeel, his hands still folded behind his back, a hum escaping from Capricorn.

"So you are the first." Capricorn said rather cryptically. Gajeel raised an eyebrow before looking to his side, seeing Lucy and Lily still sitting down in the meditation position with their eyes closed. Wind and magical energy suddenly rose from the ground beneath them, and Gajeel could sense an increase in their magic power. It wasn't tremendous, but it wasn't slight either. It was simply an increase.

Lucy and Panther Lily both let out a groan of exhaustion, the former of which even falling down onto her back in her exhaustion. Gajeel couldn't blame them, it seemed that this meditation really pays off in increasing magic power, but it can be painfully taxing on the body. Clearly Gajeel hasn't been giving holder-type mages enough credit if that is the kind of shit they have to grow through to increase their magic power. Okay, they probably don't have to go with that thing of talking with their inner dragon, but the augment and exhaustion thing still counts.

"Can I please stop training for today?" Lucy whined like a little child weakly, reaching a shaking arm up towards Capricorn, the goat-like Celestial Spirit looking down at his summoner with an unreadable expression. Honestly, even Gajeel wanted to stop training now, with each muscle in his body screaming in pain from even the simple action of staying sat up. If Capricorn tries to make them do some more meditation, then he's a freaking sadist in disguise.

"Your magic power is noticeably greater than it was this morning, Lady Lucy, and it is clear that you are tired." Capricorn said as he offered Lucy a hand back onto her feet, a hand that Lucy happily took. "I recommend that you now take a warm bath and a hearty meal."

"That sounds sublime." Lucy commented as she stood back up, though it didn't change that she was hunched slightly. At least she is able to stand up. Panther Lily crawled towards Lucy, stopping at the woman's feet and reaching his paws up towards her, wanting to be picked up and carried by her. Lucy let out a little moan of defeat as Panther Lily had seemingly made his eyes become bigger and cuter, the blonde picking the little Exceed up and holding his ting body against her chest. "You're so lucky that your little form is so cute and so light, right now I'm so tired that I wouldn't bother picking up most others."

Lucy began walking the direction back to Gajeel's place, holding Panther Lily in her arms as Capricorn followed after her, the blonde stopping as she saw that Gajeel was still sitting down cross-legged. Lucy cocked her head to the side slightly, giving Gajeel a confused look.

"Aren't you going to come with us?" Lucy asked as she looked at Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer didn't make a verbal response, instead he stood up silently... and fell down flat on his face. Lucy and Panther Lily looked at Gajeel with surprised wide eyes, thinking that he would simply just get off the ground and start moving, considering his strength and overall stubborn nature. But no, the Iron Dragon Slayer just stayed laying down on his front, with the slight movements and shakes of his body being the only evidence that he was trying to get back up but couldn't move his body. Capricorn let out an annoyed sigh, the Celestial Spirit walking towards Gajeel and grabbing hold at the back of the human's shirt. Without even the slightest sign of exertion, Capricorn picked Gajeel up and slung the Dragon Slayer over his shoulder, the Celestial Spirit continuing to walk like the large and muscular man was only as heavy as a thin sheet of paper.

Gajeel was taken by surprise as the Celestial Spirit effortlessly carried him, a feeling of embarrassment almost rising within him, however his tiredness outweighed his pride so he didn't complain. Gajeel looked down at the ground as his arms hanged from his body pathetically. Gajeel turned his head up and looked at Lucy as she followed after Capricorn with Panther Lily in her arms, the blonde walking like her earlier exhaustion applied. That almost felt embarrassing, that one of Gajeel's teammates was walking off her exhaustion while he was basically unable to move. Though he probably trained himself the hardest and thus is probably the most tired.

Gajeel has already known that if he ever wants to achieve his ambitions of strength, he'll have to push himself past his limits and into new levels. And it seems like this meditation stuff that holder-types go through is an underrated tactic that can be very useful in increasing his magic power.

Plus, Gajeel wants to see Dragon again; that oversized asshole has some questions that he needs to answer.

Gajeel snapped out of his train of thought, realising that Lucy was looking back at him, her brown eyes filled with a confusion of sorts. Gajeel looked away from Lucy, trying to ignore the look of surprise and increased confusion that he could see on Lucy's face in his peripherals. After seeing that beautiful portrait of the blonde in his magic pool, with the words 'Mine' written on the portrait's bottom, Gajeel was a little uncertain of her. He still valued her highly as a friend and teammate, but the implications of what that meant... he would rather not face that reality.

They passed by many trees that Gajeel could call familiar if it weren't for the fact that they looked plain and dull until Capricorn stopped, the Celestial Spirit suddenly holding Gajeel out in front of him before dropping the Dragon Slayer to the ground. Capricorn turned around towards Lucy, bowing down. "I apologise, Lady Lucy, but I cannot stay here much longer." Capricorn said, his voice was mostly monotonous but still had shades of sincerity to it. "I promise you that two of your other spirits will summon themselves to help you. As a Celestial Spirit, it would be heinous for us to let our master and her friends remain in the woods while they still greatly exhausted."

Lucy felt a little angry that Capricorn called her 'Master', the blonde was about to remind Capricorn that she preferred for them all to be referred to as friends, instead of this master/servant relationship that so many believe Celestial Spirit Magic to be about, but he had already retuned to the Celestial Spirit World. Lucy just huffed in annoyance and sat down on a nearby rock. She's too tired to walk the entire way, and she doubts that she can carry both Gajeel and Lily the rest of the way back in her current state.

Hell, she doesn't know if she can really carry Gajeel in general.

Two of Lucy's Zodiac keys lit up with magic power independent of the blonde's own, two flashes of light followed by a doorbell ring coming afterwards. " _Moo_ , your might bull is here for your service, Miss Lucy." Taurus said as he appeared in Earth Land, holding his arms high above his head. Two imp-like creatures flew around Taurus, their tiny bodies much smaller than the large, bovine-like creature. The imp creatures stopped in front of Lucy, making a little dance with small poses.

"Piri-piri, we're happy to help you, Miss Lucy." Gemini said, the two twins speaking in perfect unison as they continued their little dance.

"Gemini~!" Lucy squealed happily as she hugged the two small, floating creatures by bringing them close to her chest with her arms around them, the small Celestial Spirits hugging her back. Taurus looked dejected as Lucy had seemingly ignored him in favour of Gemini. Gajeel snickered as he looked at the cow-like entity, the fact that the Celestial Spirit that wants to get in Lucy's pants the most is being ignored by her making him feel happy for some reason.

"So how are these two supposed to help us?" Gajeel asked as he managed to push himself up until he was sitting up.

The two Gemini spirits flew away from Lucy before bashing against each other, a large puff of smoke covering them, the smoke puff becoming so huge that it could even cover Gajeel. When the puff of smoke cleared away, there was now another Taurus standing in place of where Gemini once was, his knuckles on his hips and a big grin on his face. "Taurus possesses enough strength to carry even heavy humans a long distance, and we can copy even other spirits of Miss Lucy perfectly, so we can also have enough strength to carry one of you two the rest of the way." Gemini said in their copied form of Taurus.

"I'm not all too happy about having to rely on my spirits for transport, but I appreciate it anyways." Lucy said, standing back up as she continued to hold onto Panther Lily, the little Exceed falling asleep. "I'll take Gemini, you can take Taurus, Gajeel."

"Why do I have to carry Gajeel instead of your beautiful body, Miss Lucy?" Taurus whined like a little kid, causing Gajeel to glare at him. He wasn't so happy about being carried by the Celestial Spirit either.

"Because I trust Gemini much more with my hands that I do with you, Taurus." Lucy responded like it was common knowledge (though it probably was). "Point is, Gemini has never once attempted to cop a feel or anything else that is perverted, which is really more than I can say for you."

"But I can't help it, Miss Lucy, your body is one of the best in the entire universe." Taurus said in response, like it was a good defence. The bovine spirit walked towards Lucy, a silly grin on his face and a perverted look in his eyes as his fingers flexing and moving. "Moo. All I want to do is have a touch at one of your udders or your rump roast."

"Aaaaand now you're going home." Lucy said as she pulled out Taurus' key and sent him back to the Celestial Spirit World by forcing his gate shut. Even if her magic energy was a little low, it was nowhere near dangerous levels, so she spare some of it to send the Celestial Spirit back. Lucy turned back towards the Gemini Taurus as the real Taurus wailed her name in a dramatic manner. "Sorry about that, Gemini. Can you carry both me and Gajeel or should I summon another spirit to help you?"

"You don't need to summon a spirit, Miss Lucy, we can summon ourselves now if you really need us. Your training has helped us as well." Gemini responded, continuing to keep themself in the cow-like spirit's form; they didn't even turn their voice or eyes back to normal. It reminded Lucy of the reason why she cares for Taurus, despite his blatant perverted nature. Gemini, in Taurus' form, gave Lucy a smile and a thumbs up. "Besides, Taurus is jacked and very strong, we should be able to carry you, Lily and Gajeel without a problem."

Gemini picked up Lucy and managed to balance their master on the shoulder of their Taurus form, keeping one of their hands on the blonde's side so she and the Exceed in her arms wouldn't fall off. Gemini then picked Gajeel up by the back of his shirt, taking the heavy man off the ground easily with one hand. Gemini began walking as they continued to carry Lucy, Lily and Gajeel in their copied Taurus form, the Celestial Spirit summoner sitting comfortably on their shoulder whilst Gajeel was swaying slightly as his arms and legs hanged lazily, his feet and hands dragging against the ground slightly.

Gajeel didn't care much, at least his motion sickness wasn't acting up. Though that could be the Stillness Elixir's effects still in work, he hasn't really been keeping track of the passing days.

* * *

Gajeel had almost slammed his door open, the Dragon Slayer and Lucy (with Lily still asleep in her arms) entering his home. Gemini had the two Fairy Tail mages close enough to Gajeel's house before they had to return to the Celestial Spirit World, the two humans having enough energy left to walk the rest of the distance. Panther Lily woke up, the Exceed using his Aera Magic to grow wings and fly out of Lucy's hold before stretching his arms and legs, little popping sounds coming from within his little body. Panther Lily flew onto the couch, ignoring the little scowl coming from Gajeel; it seemed like too much of a coincidence that he chose the exact moment that they arrived home to wake up.

Maybe he's just mad and thinking this because he's kind of tired, but Gajeel is growing suspicious that Lily might be using his wits to be lazy. Gajeel may appreciate a smart cat, but he mostly got Lily because the Exceed is also really frickin' strong.

All that Lucy did was take her shoes off before she layed down on the couch in a foetal position, her head resting on a cushion as if it were a pillow. Lucy was asleep in an instant, her sleeping form shuffling into a more comfortable position. Gajeel looked at the clock, seeing that it was halfway through four in the afternoon. Gajeel looked back at Lucy, seeing Virgo suddenly there and kneeling down as she draped a golden blanket over the sleeping beauty.

Virgo turned her head towards Gajeel, the stoic maiden putting her index finger over her closed lips in a 'shush' manner. Virgo stood up, walking towards Gajeel quietly with elegance and grace. "Princess is tired and in need of sleep. Her magic levels are nowhere near as low when you and her took down that Dark Guild, but she still needs at least a few minutes of rest." Virgo explained in a quiet voice, remaining poker-faced. Gajeel nodded silently in acknowledgment to what the Celestial Spirit said. Virgo suddenly smiled, which was surprising enough on its own, but it also showed a sense of deviousness. Gajeel needed to take a double take and was still nonplussed. "You can feel more than free to join Princess, Sir Gajeel. I just request that you don't wake her up."

Gajeel was still a frozen statue with a hanging jaw as Virgo returned to the Celestial Spirit World, the Iron Dragon Slayer didn't even have a chance to respond to what she said. Damn spirit is even more crazy than Gajeel thought. Gajeel had eventually regained his control of his body, but his eyes seemed to have a mind and intention of their own as they kept on pointing towards Lucy, the blonde looking serene as she slept with the blanket over her body. Gajeel looked around the rest of the room, trying to find somewhere else that he could sleep, but kept on returning to Lucy. He could just go up to his own bedroom, but frankly it's starting to feel like someone sewn heavy weights under his eyes.

With no other choice because of his own overbearing lassitude, Gajeel trudged as quietly as possible towards Lucy, the Iron Dragon Slayer crawling under the blanket that Virgo put over his teammate, the blanket smelling of that celestial element that all things from the Celestial Spirit World smelled of. At least it made sense as to why the blanket was comfy on a nearly unbelievable level.

Gajeel wrapped his muscular arms around Lucy, the sleeping blonde turning around and pressing her face against his chest. Gajeel tried to ignore the warmth she was igniting in his heart and in his pants (especially the former because of reasons related to why he doesn't want to fall in love again), closing his eyes and falling into the Sandman's embrace.

* * *

Lucy's nose wiggled and sniffed as a delicious smell greeted and kissed her nostrils, the aroma was small and hard to notice but nevertheless had made her stomach rumble and churn quietly in a desire to taste what food the smell was coming from. However, as Lucy slid her eye open, she saw a muscular chest covered with a black shirt. Lucy's face heated up around the cheeks as Gajeel was sleeping with her, his arms wrapped around her protectively, a soft snore escaping from the baritone man.

Lucy had to keep her mouth shut to stop an 'epp' from escaping, the blonde trying to wiggle her way out of Gajeel's grasp, however she found that Gajeel also had his legs around her own, rendering her completely unable to escape. ' _Well this looks like a good moment for_ _déjà_ _vu._ ' Lucy thought as she was trapped in the Iron Dragon Slayer's hold until he either woke up or released her (there was no certainty that one would happen after the other.). Lucy continued to look at Gajeel, the blonde shifting slightly to put herself in a more comfortable position. ' _Guess I'll be stuck like this until he lets me go. I could wake him up... probably not a good idea. Fuck, though, does he have such a good face to kiss._ '

Her brown orbs transfixed on Gajeel's lips, Lucy had leaned forward and landed a kiss on Gajeel. The blonde's eyes widened and her pupils had shrunk in horror as she just realised what she did, almost flinging herself away from Gajeel if it weren't for the arms and legs that he used and was locking her in place against him with.

She kissed him, what sort of madness was that?! They are friends, damn it, friends! Granted, they are friends with benefits, but that means that kissing is only for when they are in the mood. And he is asleep, and she was aiming for the lips. Granted, again, she narrowly missed and kissed his cheek instead, but that doesn't really make anything better.

A grunt-like sound came from Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer asleep before he slowly slid his eyes open, becoming awake. Lucy sucked the air in between her teeth, fearing that Gajeel was aware of the kiss; that their relationship of friendship with a side of sex was going to fall apart or go crazy and out of control because Lucy decided to act on an impulse. Gajeel's mouth was like a frown as his brow was furrowed, looking as though he was mad at her or something. But when Gajeel's red eyes began looking a Lucy, he smiled at her.

Lucy's heartbeats became faster and resounded throughout her ears, her tongue feeling dry as Gajeel's smiling face was close to her own, especially after she kissed him. Was he aware that he kissed her?

Gajeel moved his head up and sniffed at the air before looking back at Lucy. "Lily's cooking a spag bol, you probably have some time to take that bath that Capricorn talked about." Gajeel said in a rather matter-of-fact voice, the Dragon Slayer getting off of her and walking around the room like it was all nothing. Maybe it was all nothing, that Lucy just acted on a random impulse and that was all she wrote. Maybe Gajeel didn't even feel the kiss because he was in a deep sleep. Lucy suddenly noticed a golden blanket covering a part of her body, the same blanket glowing and sparkling as it disappeared. Must have been something from the Celestial Spirit World.

Lucy heard the sound of running water from upstairs, the blonde looking at the stairs to the upper level of the house, seeing Gajeel descend down into the room from them. "I've already started running the bath for ya, you should go an' make sure that it doesn't overflow or somethin'." The Iron Dragon Slayer explained in a calm voice.

"Thank you, Gajeel." Lucy said as she began walking upstairs, giving the muscular man a hug.

Gajeel felt that weird warmth in his heart from the last time that Lucy hugged him return, once again permeating throughout his entire being. He didn't know how to react, his face was heating up intensely on the cheeks, his arms were shaking as he didn't know if he should hug back or not. Gajeel didn't hug others as much as most people did, you would have to be someone that he cares greatly for so he would be willing to hug you. Lucy was definitely in this category, at least because of recent days, but Gajeel still felt a feeling of hesitance.

" _Hug her, you damn idiot. Hug her!_ " Gajeel could hear himself from inside his head. The Iron Dragon Slayer yielded, his arms slowly closing around the blonde woman-

Lucy let go of Gajeel and began walking up the stairs, the aforementioned Dragon Slayer looking up the stairs as he saw the Celestial Spirit mage enter the bathroom. The feeling of warmth in Gajeel's heart simmered, the Dragon Slayer walking down the stairs to the gym in his basement.

Lucy closed and locked the bathroom door behind her as she entered the aforementioned room, her back against the closed door as she looked at the rising water in the bathtub. Lucy put her hand in the water, only to immediately take it out as the water was hot; not scalding hot, but still a heat that the blonde was still more than uncomfortable with. Lucy turned the tap for the cold water, the stream of water flowing out of the faucet becoming bigger and colder. Lucy put her hand under the faucet, smiling as the water was at the right temperature. Lucy began stripping down out of all her clothes, the blonde noticing a shower that was completely separate from the bathtub.

Lucy put a towel on the toilet seat, as it would be in arms' reach if she would need it while still in the tub and that it would generally not take up too much space. Lucy looked at the clothes that she wore, now lying down on the floor of Gajeel and Lily's bathroom, including that particular article of clothing. Lucy's brown eyes turned towards the locked bathroom door, not wanting anyone but Gajeel to see them, and even then she only wants him to see them later tonight.

She had bought them over a year ago, and yet they still fitted comfortably. Not to mention that tonight seems like a good moment to wear them, especially if they get Gajeel excited.

Lucy turned the taps as the growing water in the tub seemed at a right height, the faucet stopped pouring water. A soft moan escaped from Lucy as the warm to hot water massaged her body as she descended into its body, the blonde Celestial Spirit summoner laying her body down against the tub's like it was a soft bed.

Every muscle in Lucy's body had instantly relaxed as the water touched the skin and flesh that surrounded it. Even with the probable hours that she had spent asleep, Lucy still felt like she had just relaxed for the first time today as the water touched her. It really was like a massage made by divine hands.

Lucy spotted a soap bar on a small rack at the side of the tub, pearl-white and clean. Lucy picked up the bar and held it in front of herself, wondering if she was allowed to use it. Of course, Gajeel didn't say anything like she wasn't allowed to use the soap bar, and it still looked like it has a long time before it's all used up, so the blonde had determined that she was allowed to use it.

The Celestial Spirit mage hummed happily as she scrubbed herself with the bar of soap, the bar's innate lilac scent spreading over to her as she continued to wash herself with it. There was a window on the opposite side of the bathtub, at least from the side that Lucy was facing, giving the blonde a view of what was happening outside of the house. She could see dark clouds moving in as the orange sun was retreating into the horizon, a scratch of rain appearing on the window. More and more scratches made sudden appearances on the flat, rectangular glass as it became more apparent that it was starting to rain.

There was a drizzle outside, one which quickly grew into a storm. A storm limited to rain only, a thankful thing because of Panther Lily's phobia of thunder, but a storm nevertheless.

A soft sigh escaped from Lucy as she looked at the raining world outside of the window; it doesn't seem like she'll be able to go home, though she probably wouldn't go home nevertheless because of her plans. Lucy put the soap bar back on the rack that it was on earlier, the blonde washing the soap off her body with the bath's water, grabbing hold of a bottle of shampoo and squirting some of the bottle's contents onto her flat palm. Lucy rubbed her hands together, the shampoo becoming foamy between her palms before she started to move her hands through her hair. Lucy hummed a little tune to herself, even with the loud rain outside, as she rubbed the shampoo into her long, blonde hair.

Eventually, Lucy was done with her bath (especially as the water began to lose its heat and become lukewarm), washing out her hair and drying off. Lucy put the towel back on the towel rack, where it could dry off, and covered her dry body with her clothes again. Lucy unlocked the bathroom door and opened it, the constellation spirit summoner looking downstairs to see Panther Lily appear at the bottom floor, floating above the ground with his angelic wings, the small, cat-like creature smiling up at his friend.

"Dinner is finished, Lucy. You're right on time." Panther Lily said, the Exceed in front of Lucy's face in the blink of an eye. "Come downstairs, I'm certain that you'll love it."

"And I'm certain that I'll love it as well." Lucy responded happily as she descended down the stairs while Panther Lily flew down the stairs.

* * *

Gajeel huffed as he made bench presses, the Iron Dragon Slayer lifting a large barbell with weights at the ends that could be just as big if not bigger than him. Even though he had already became exhausted earlier today from his training, Gajeel had felt more than refreshed when he woke and needed to get rid of some of the spare energy he had gained. So a quick workout session made as much sense to Gajeel, especially as he could already smell the oncoming rain when he started up the bath for Lucy.

Gajeel put the barbell down after his three hundredth or so lift; he already knew that his arms, legs and every last muscle in his body will already be sore in the morning, there was no reason to make it worse than it would already inevitably be. Gajeel had already put his regular tunic on before weightlifting and decided to not take it off during the activity, knowing that he wouldn't do as much as usual and that he wouldn't have as much time as usual.

Gajeel looked at one of his muscular arms, lifting it into the air and flexing it. It still surprised him how much power he could feel within him now, that he had grown quite stronger than before in that session of training; it was truly surprising how much ass meditation could kick. Gajeel smirked; even if it took a surprising toll, meditation was surprisingly useful for increasing one's magic power.

Maybe if he adds meditation to his training schedule, he'll end up becoming so much stronger than Salamander that he can defeat him with one arm tied behind his back in no time. It would be fun and awesome, especially 'cause he knows it would be a sore hit to the cocky annoyance's pride.

Though Salamander would then just start yelling and demanding to know how Gajeel would get so strong after he would be done moping about how inferior of a Dragon Slayer and mage he is. Maybe Gajeel could just knock him unconscious to make him shut up.

Gajeel snickered at the thought, putting his equipment away before exiting his basement. The smell of the dinner that Panther Lily was cooking hit Gajeel's nostrils like a hyper Vulcan, his stomach roaring like a dragon in response to the tasty smell. Gajeel walked up the stairs to the basement and headed for the kitchen, the delightful smell becoming stronger and almost blocking Gajeel's other sense as he came closer towards the source. The kitchen door was wide open, Gajeel could see Lily and Lucy as they put the spaghetti and mince onto clean plates.

Gajeel stopped walking as he looked at Lucy, the blonde woman seemingly glowing as he looked at her. Time froze to a still image; an instant trapped in an eternity; like a photograph or a painting. Lucy's golden light began to spread and cover the rest of the world that surrounded her and Gajeel until they were both all that existed in an inexplicable area of golden light. Lucy was still frozen, she was like a statue: eternally unmoving and indescribably beautiful. Gajeel didn't know what to make of the phenomenon that was happening before him, he didn't know if he could even make sense of it. All that the Dragon Slayer knew was that he couldn't take his eyes off the frozen image of Lucy and that there was a greedy feeling of want growing within him.

And that want was Lucy. He didn't know how to describe it, if it could even be described. It was that he just wanted... _Lucy_. He just wanted all of her; to be his, and his alone.

Whatever part of common sense, and part of him in general, the still resided in the back of Gajeel's mind was able to break past a wall that was pushing it back as Gajeel and Lucy were transported to this mysterious dimension of light, bringing the Dragon Slayer back to reality with a mighty yell. Gajeel found himself back to his senses, back to the real world and in his kitchen; and time was moving once more. Lucy and Panther Lily had finished placing the spaghetti bolognese onto the three plates, the former placing the finishing touches to them by grating cheese onto them. Panther Lily looked at Gajeel with a sense of confusion, noticing that something was slightly off with his close friend.

Gajeel ignored the Exceed's eyes, hoping that it will divert his attention away and make him forget (though it was unlikely). "Dinner's ready~." Lucy said as she picked up two plates, each with an individual hand. "Gajeel, could you please be a dear and help me and Lily by bringing the knives and forks to the table? Oh really, yes? Thank you, you sure have improved on being a gentlemen."

Gajeel scoffed at the blonde woman, knowing that she purposely left little of a space between her question and response to make him do as she wants. As if she could get him to do what she wants.

And yet, weirdly enough, he found himself laying down the utensils like his friend requested. Gajeel let out a little sigh as he finished laying down the knives and forks as Lucy laid down the plates. Lucy gave Gajeel a sweet, kind smile as the Dragon Slayer looked at her, the smile was because he did what she asked without complaining. That pesky, welcoming warmth in Gajeel's chest and cheeks came back once again, though this time it was more subtle. But that didn't change that Gajeel was able to feel and notice it, the Dragon Slayer looking away from the Celestial Spirit mage until that transient warmth gave up and went away.

Gajeel, Lucy and Panther Lily sat down at the table and started to eat their dinner. "I'm honestly surprised that there is still cutlery here, I thought that Gajeel would have already eaten any of them by now." Lucy jested, sticking a fork into a pile of spaghetti and spinning it until the pasta was wrapped tightly around the prongs, a giggle escaping from the summoner before she stuck the spaghetti in her mouth and began eating it.

Gajeel smirked and snorted at Lucy, finding the humour in her little joke; even he knows that most people would be surprised that there is cutlery in his house that he doesn't eat; he does eat cutlery at other places, if it's made of metal or iron. Besides, there was no way that he could stay mad at her when she has such a nice smile, or such a nice laugh.

"We had to get them enchanted." Panther Lily responded, the Exceed using a knife to put a pile of mince onto a flat fork and sticking it into his mouth. Gajeel frowned at Lily, though the reaction was more of a result of the memory that the cat-like entity had resurfaced; so much Jewel that he had to spend for the knives and forks when he could spend it on rich, tasty metal. "It is hard, but it is possible to enchant metal to be uneatable to a Iron Dragon Slayer. The enchanter in question needs to be a powerful and skilled one, and even then it takes a long time for the enchantment to become complete. It wasn't cheap though, even a single utensil costed a lot of Jewel to enchant."

"Yeah, instead of buyin' some tasty metal I had to spend money so I can't eat the knives n' forks n' spoons 'cause Lily here likes to use them." Gajeel said, his mouth full of mince and spaghetti as pieces of them flew out of his mouth and onto the table as he spoke. "Personally, I still think it's highway robbery."

"Can you please _not_ speak with your mouth full." Lucy said, looking at Gajeel with a sense of scorn as she saw the food on the table, purely a result from the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Didn't Metalicana teach you anything about table manners."

"I was raised by a giant dragon in the forest in ancient times, this is the closest thing to table manners for me." Gajeel said, using his fork to shove food into his mouth in an uncouth manner.

"I'm pretty sure that they still had tables and manners back during the ancient times before you went through the Eclipse Gate." Lucy said, keeping her glaring eyes at Gajeel. The black-haired man rolled his eyes, shutting his mouth as he ate and swallowing all of his food before talking. Lucy smiled at Gajeel, the blonde returning to her own dinner. For a while the rest of the dinner was eaten in silence from all three participants, the only sound in the house being the tapping of the rain outside.

When the two humans and Exceed had finished their dinner, Panther Lily transformed into his Battle Form and stacked the plates atop of each other and the knives and forks on top of the top plate. Lucy raised an eyebrow, knowing that Lily preferred to not enter his Battle Form for everyday tasks, in case if something happens where it is required, like a sudden attack from a dark mage or a wild animal. Panther Lily noticed Lucy's confusion in the peripherals of his eyes, the muscular anthropomorphic feline smiling silently at his friend in response. Panther Lily carried the plates and utensils to kitchen and to the sink, turning one of the taps and making water run out of the faucet, wherein he began to wash the plates and cutlery.

" _Maybe he just thinks that there will be no risk of an attack. Or maybe it's just quicker and easier for him if he does it like that._ " Lucy thought as she looked at Panther Lily, the blonde turning towards Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer looking out the window to the dark world outside, rain still falling in vast quantities.

"Looks like you ain't goin' home tonight, Bunny." Gajeel said as he turned his head to look at Lucy before looking back at the rain. "It's raining like Hell out there, not to mention that you live far from here. I ain't letting you go home when that rain can kill ya with hypothermia, you're gonna have to stay here."

"That's okay, Gajeel." Lucy responded with more happiness than she wished to let out, the blonde regaining a calm demeanour as she got back up on her feet and tucked her chair back into the table. "I don't mind it. I just hope that you and Lily are okay with it."

"I'm completely fine with it." Panther Lily called from the kitchen, Lucy and Gajeel looked at the transformed Exceed as he was looking back at him, a grin growing on his face. "And I'm sure that Gajeel would _love_ to spend more time with you."

Gajeel gawked at what Lily said, wondering if he was implying about sex or actual love. If he was implying the latter.

"Y'know, if you keep making that face then it's going to stay frozen like that." Lucy giggled as she looked at Gajeel's face, the Dragon Slayer's mouth closing his mouth as he looked at her with unreadable eyes. Even with the smile on her beauti- _moderate_ face, Gajeel didn't know how to react in response to Lily; he already knew what Gajeel went through after the breakup with Levy, and he knew about Gajeel's adamance. "I don't think people will be able to take you seriously like you want them to if your face is stuck like that 24/7."

Gajeel blinked as he looked at Lucy, the corners of his lips turned downwards, even if he wasn't frowning or scowling. Lucy's smile faded as Gajeel looked at her like that, the blonde starting to fear that she did something wrong or crossed a line with her last joke. Gajeel walked past Lucy, the blonde turning around and looking at the Dragon Slayer with hurt eyes, fearing that she did something wrong. Lucy squeezed a hand into a fist in anxiety, unconsciously bringing it high up and close to her face. Lucy looked at the fist, slowly turning a pale white from how tightly she was squeezing it, creating an emphasis on the pink guild mark on the back of the hand.

Panther Lily appeared to Lucy's side, the Exceed having reassumed his usual little form and flying next to her with angelic wings. Lucy looked at Lily quickly before looking upstairs towards Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer carrying a towel. It was like Gajeel could sense his little centre of attention status, the black-haired Dragon Slayer sharply turning his head towards Lucy and Lily.

"You're sleeping in my bed, Bunny. I'll be sleeping on the couch." Gajeel said.

Lucy's eyes widened, the blonde running up the stairs and grabbing hold of Gajeel's wrist before the aforementioned Dragon Slayer could fully enter the bathroom; his body already halfway inside. "Wait." Lucy said, gasping lightly and slightly as Gajeel was looking at her. "Why can't you sleep in your own bed?"

"Because the only rooms here are mine 'n Lily's, and I'm not letting you sleep on the couch again." Gajeel answered.

"Well then why can't you and I just sleep in the same bed. Together." Lucy said, unconsciously moving her hands behind her back and folding them together; there was as sense of intimacy that she was feeling from that statement that felt like it was on a different level than what she and the Dragon Slayer have experienced in the past. "It wouldn't be the first time that you and I have slept together. We can even have some of that fun that caused our close relationship and team to begin in the first place."

A wide grin grew on Gajeel's face before he quickly regained his indifferent mask, though the grin still lasted enough for Lucy to notice. And boy, that grin sure did make her happier. "Fine then, Bunny. If you want to share a bed with me, then I'll allow it." Gajeel said before he disappeared behind the bathroom door, the clink of the door locking coming from inside.

Lily flew past Lucy, the Exceed holding his copy of _Great Magus Labyrinth: A Numen's Lament_ close to his chest with his small arms, the cat-like entity flying into his room and closing the door behind him. A feeling of guilt and hindsight had overcame Lucy, the blonde all but knocking on Lily's door. Lucy may have technically planned what she was going to do tonight, but it was all done during a period of a surge of heat between her legs, a period of when Lucy had Gajeel's iron dragon on her mind. She never considered that Panther Lily shares a house with Gajeel, or that he too has powerful hearing; she didn't consider that he could hear and he left uncomfortable at the sound of her and Gajeel making love.

Lucy had a hand balled into a fist, hovering in front of the wooden door to Lily's room. Lucy's hand was shaking, a sense of nervousness in her. Lucy didn't knock, her hand slowly lowering and unfurling, a sigh escaping from her as something was stopping her from gaining the will to knock. Her brown orbs moving to an open bedroom door, Lucy entered Gajeel's bedroom.

Lucy was almost surprised by how well kept Gajeel's bedroom was, though maybe it was like this because he made it this clean for her to sleep in it. The thought of the possibility that Gajeel would do that just for her, and the actuality of that possibility being true, made a wide and powerful feeling of warmth emerge in Lucy. The Celestial Spirit pressed her hands against the heat source that her heart has turned into; that would be quite possibly one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for her; the only moment in her life that Lucy could say was indisputably more heartwarming was when Natsu uprooted one of the rainbow flower trees because she was too sick to enjoy the festival with everyone else.

Lucy found herself sprawling down onto Gajeel's bed, a large if not king-sized bed with a black pillow and black bedsheet. She rolled onto her back, taking in the other details of Gajeel's room. There was a large, wooden wardrobe on the right side of the room (at least it looked like the right side from Lucy's perspective), wherein it took up half of the wall there, being large enough to fit multiple clothes in. There were two dumbbells that sat motionlessly at the foot of the wardrobe. A large, dark red mat took up most of the centre of the room, one of the sides of one of the barbells sat on the aforementioned mat. There was also a standing mirror that was placed near the wardrobe, which really struck Lucy as odd; since when did Gajeel ever have an interest in fashion? Lucy could have though up or theorized other reasons that Gajeel may have that mirror, but neither she nor her brain were truly in the mood to think about it.

Lucy noticed a small coffee table that was basically littered with piles of metal, from broken metal bars to metal nails and bolts. It didn't have to take being a genius to know that they were all there with the intention of being a snack or overall food for Gajeel. Being a Dragon Slayer who's element wasn't something that caused automatic destruction was probably a perk that Gajeel had over Natsu and Laxus.

Lucy rolled back over to her front, pressing her nose against the covers and taking in Gajeel's scent. It was unsurprising that Gajeel smelled like metal, he basically has that flowing in his bloodstream. Lucy had to keep on blinking repeatedly to stop herself from falling asleep; slumber's gentle hands refused to let go of her.

Lucy sat up with an upright back, the clingy claws of the desire to sleep finally relenting and letting go of her, making her feel more awake. Lucy turned her head towards a small three-drawer cupboard, the blonde approaching it and opening the drawers without full realization of her actions. She found the drawer to be full of black boxers, surprisingly looking like they were all cleaned and then ironed meticulously, maybe that was done by Lily. There was a packet of condoms in the corner of the drawer that the boxers were located in, but Lucy didn't pay much mind or attention to it.

Lucy closed the top drawer and opened the middle drawer; the only difference that this drawer had from the one above it was that it was socks instead of boxers. Lucy was uninterested in the sight of folded socks, the blonde ready to close this drawer and proceed onto the next, however she saw the sight of a different colour, like that of a picture. Lucy pressed a finger down on the different sigh, not feeling anything like the wooden surface of the cupboard. Lucy moved her fingers underneath the pile of folded socks, eventually reaching an edge of unknown object, no doubt a picture. Lucy grabbed hold of the picture's side, pulling it out from under the socks.

Lucy's face burnt to the colour of a red beet, her heat palpitating so intensely that it felt like it was going to pop like a balloon, her legs slowly losing their strength like invisible, intangible leeches were draining them dry of all power. It was picture of her when she worked for Sorcerer Weekly... as a model. The photo could have of course been describe as a sultry boudoir photo; Sorcerer was never shy of showing men or women (especially the latter) in scanty clothing. Though Lucy always enjoyed Sorcerer and still loves it to this day, she honestly feels like she has had enough pictures of her taken, at least for the time being. As both a wizard and novelist, it hurts your pride a bit when some people only know about you because you agreed to be in a photospread. Nevertheless, the picture was of her sitting on a bed, wearing some slightly revealing lingerie and doing a slightly seductive pose.

Lucy looked down at the pile of folded socks in the drawer, the blonde putting her hand into the pile in an attempt to see if there were anymore photos. They were; many of them were from Sorcerer Weekly, though some were obviously from magazines and whatnot that are strictly adult. Nevertheless, most of them were of her; and she was dressed in revealing clothes and in revealing poses. She was a constant among most of the pictures. More gears than usual in the machine that was Lucy's brain began turning and running as thoughts were being shoved in mercilessly.

Does Gajeel have these secret photos (most of which consist of her, mind you) to help him whenever his little dragon feels the need for attention? Did he get these prior to his friends with benefits relationship with her, or did he only have them after they started to make love for both of their sake? Lucy surely can't see any photos of any of the other females in Fairy Tail, she can't even see any females that looked like the other girls in Fairy Tail remotely. And even for the photos of those unknown women, whom were obviously used for photospreads, they all had a slight feature that looked like her; long blonde hair. Brown eyes. And many other little features that could allude to her.

Lucy shook her head from side to side; maybe those little features and such were all just illusions that were stuck in by her mind. Lucy put the photos back in the drawer and covered them with the socks again before shutting that drawer, hoping that the continuing experience of a rapid heart, red-hot face and weakening legs would finally subside and leave her be. Lucy didn't know how long it took, but she finally returned to being normal. But Lucy still couldn't have the bliss that was escaping the thought of Gajeel becoming that interested in her and her body. Or the bliss that was escaping the thought of becoming something more with Gajeel.

Thoughts like that shouldn't be; she still wasn't all that interested in returning to the dating scene (which still, as far as she could remember, was just a cesspool of disasters and jerkasses), and she could tell that Gajeel still wasn't ready to fall in love again. It was something that he hid well, she could only find it from small clues, and she knows that she'll never fully understand what it was like for him. She just knows that the Iron Dragon Slayer isn't yet ready to find someone who means as much to him as Levy did back then. Still though, the thought felt fun to entertain; him holding her tight in his arms as they kissed on their wedding day, their friends cheering and clapping at them for finding love. Her in a beautiful, white wedding dress while he was in a white tux suit, his long hair neatly tied into a ponytail.

A love story ending that she would have reveries about, so many times in that past she would have daydreams about marrying the perfect man. Her many different husbands in her many different dreams were always her own creations; their appearance, their names, their personalities, their magical abilities, their past, their friends, their families. She knew them all perfectly because they exist purely in the form of her imagination. This was the first ever reverie of a wedding that she had where her husband is someone she knows, a friend, someone that she might have feelings for...

Lucy growled and started hitting her head with her fists, trying to get such a preposterous thought out of her head. Sometimes it felt like her brain was her true enemy that only sought to make life become so needlessly complicated and frustrating for no other reason than its own amusement.

She only wants to see Gajeel as a friend, she doesn't sex and the existence of being in a team to change it.

Lucy bent her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs, at least the front of her legs. She was balancing on the front of her feet, it was almost strange how she didn't wobble. One of her hands feel to the ground, slowly getting back onto its front and crawling to the drawer that laid at the bottom, crawling onto the wooden piece like a spider. Lucy pulled the last drawer open, revealing nothing more than shits that were different than the usual tunic that Gajeel would wear. Lucy had briefly wondered if Gajeel was hiding more photos underneath the shirts, but she reached an ultimate decision to not check. She didn't want to once again go through that whole fiasco of imagining Gajeel as her husband on their wedding day.

Though he did look kind of sexy in that sharp tux; definitely a man that she would love to marry, far better than any husband that she could make up or imagine.

She needs to purge herself of these thoughts.

Lucy pushed the drawer shut, falling down on her butt as her ankles were beginning to scream from the constant weight of her entire body on them. Lucy leaned her head up to the ceiling, looking at the lamp that illuminated Gajeel's room. Boredom was altering her sense of time, she couldn't tell if second were passing in minutes or minutes were passing in seconds.

Lucy must have began to lose touch with her sense of reality as she looked at the lamp like a confused child, because she didn't hear or notice Gajeel's bedroom door opening behind her. "What's up with you?" Gajeel asked as he entered in and closed the door behind him. Lucy twisted her body and neck slightly to look at Gajeel, the blonde getting back onto her feet shortly thereafter to look at him more. The Iron Dragon Slayer was all but naked as he stood there, the only thing that resembled clothing being the long, white towel that was wrapped around his hips and obscuring his legs and penis. Gajeel had his hands on his hips, looking at Lucy with a raised eyebrow, his arms and torso were covered only in small drops of water that trailed down his muscular arms and his muscular chest.

"I got a little bored waiting for you." Lucy answered in as calm of a voice as she could muster, trying to pretend that she wasn't looking at Gajeel's sexy, shirtless body. The Dragon Slayer, however, noticed her wandering eyes, smirking and making his pecs do a small bounce. Lucy let out a little whimper as her face turned red, letting out pheromones that made Gajeel grow hard as he smelled them. Within the blink of an eye, Gajeel was in front of Lucy, the blonde caged in his arms.

"I know you want my body, Bunny." Gajeel purred into Lucy's ear, his arms remaining tight around her body and he pressed her against his chest, his hard members pressing and grinding against her pelvis, she could feel heat radiating from the organ, even with the layers of fabric that separated them. The rock-hard shaft had only made Lucy release even more pheromones at an even stronger rate, hitting Gajeel like a tidal wave. But that didn't deter Gajeel from his desire. On the contrary, it made his libido grow stronger. Gajeel let out a lustful growl and his grinding penis had only grown harder and hotter. And, in response, Lucy's scent had only became even better; it was like a cycle that would only result in both mages becoming more lustful. "I know you're hungry. I know you're horny. You want me and I want you, you know this is only going to end with us humping each other's brains into mush. And you know it's going to happen inevitably."

"This is what I wanted since this morning." Lucy said before she slammed her lips on Gajeel's own, her lust erupting like a volcano from within her. Gajeel was at first taken by surprise, but it was within a second that he began to kiss her back. Their tongues made an orgasmic dance in theirs mouth, alternating between Lucy's mouth and Gajeel's mouth. There was no special meaning behind the kiss, no deeper emotions or anything else of the like. It was purely an expression of the mood and their carnal desires. That was what they kept on reminding themselves; that's what they wanted to believe.

Gajeel grabbed hold of his towel and yanked it off, the piece of cloth falling to the ground as Gajeel's erect dick flopped upwards, finally free of its prison. "Get that top off and get it off before I rip it off. I want to see those plump ass boobs of yours!" Gajeel demanded. Lucy giggled, making an alluring smile as she grabbed the hem of her tank top with her fingers before pulling it off in a second, the only thing that stopped Gajeel from seeing her bare breasts being the pink lace bra that Lucy wore. Gajeel's jaw dropped as he saw the blonde's bra, his cock felt like it was on fire, his sexual arousal growing stronger as he saw the pink lace around the sexy organs.

Lucy smirked, a dominating look appearing in her eyes as she saw Gajeel's reaction. Lucy put her hands behind her back, almost like she was about to unhook her bra, before making them go further down and instead pulling down her long red pants. Gajeel officially believed that he had died and gone to sexy heaven. Underneath her red pants, Lucy was wearing suspenders. The lingerie suspenders, as pink as the lace bra she was wearing. Gajeel didn't know that the colour pink could make him feel so hard; it must have been because Lucy herself is such a goddess of sexiness. She had fucking planned this, she wanted to have sex with him and she really was going to make him beg her for it. _Beg!_ She's freakin' sexy and insane.

"Looks like you're now under my power, aren't you?" Lucy purred as she looked at Gajeel, the blonde finally unhooking her bra, releasing her plump breasts as they layed down, much to Gajeel's joy. A smirk had merely grown on Lucy's face. "Tend to my breasts, I know you want them."

Lucy didn't need to repeated herself, Gajeel had already began to suck on her left nipple while his left hand touched and massaged her right breast. Lucy began to moan in sexual ecstasy, making Gajeel suck and massage her boobs even more intensely. He was growing hungrier for her body with each taste, the desire to fuck her was becoming near overwhelming, he practically _needed_ her right now. Gajeel slammed Lucy down onto his bed, the mattress being so soft that the blonde barely felt it as her body sunk into it. Gajeel's wet manhood kept on pressing and rubbing against Lucy's core and the pink panties that covered them, the aforementioned panties becoming soaked from the precum that came from Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer reaching new levels of arousal.

Gajeel pressed his thumb down on the nipple of Lucy's breast that he was massaging while his tongue caressed the nipple of the breast he was sucking on, the Celestial Spirit mage's moans of pure, sexual delight was an orgasmic symphony to the Dragon Slayer's ears.

Gajeel pulled Lucy up from where he pinned her down on the bed, his free arm wrapping around her back whilst the hand that massaged her right breast had let go of it so he could grip her ass. Lucy moans grew deeper, Gajeel pressed her against one of the walls of his bedroom. Lucy's arms where wrapped around Gajeel, her fingernails digging into his back and creating crescent moons, much like the first time they made love, and much like that first time, Gajeel didn't care for them or the pain they delivered. Lucy could barely breathe in between her moans, she wanted Gajeel to be inside of her so desperately.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Gajeel began to pull Lucy's suspenders down, revealing her now bare vagina, covered in her invisible juices. Gajeel suddenly stopped his sexual touching, removing his mouth from around the large breast, looking at the blonde and down at her muff. "God, you're just too damn sexy, Bunny." Gajeel said as he looked at Lucy solemnly before he slid his erect member into her. Gajeel and Lucy were both overwhelmed by rampant waves of pleasure, moaning deeply as these powerful tsunamis of sexual joy refused to leave them. "I'm going to fuck you until you can't remember your own name."

"Do it, Stud Sexy." Lucy responded.

Gajeel began to thrust in and out of Lucy, the two mages moaning in pleasure as the sensation pulsed throughout both of their bodies. The Dragon Slayer began to ferociously suck on one of Lucy's buds (this time the other one) and he continued to press her against the wall whilst simultaneously thrusting in and out of her, slowly and gradually becoming faster and faster each time he pushed himself into her, going deeper inside her. He was radiating from them, between them, and bouncing off around them and the room's walls.

Their pheromones were becoming thick in the air, and if any entity that could smell them were to walk into the room at this exact moment, they would suffocate on the pheromones. Lucy and Gajeel had lost all awareness of the world that surround them, Gajeel ceased on sucking Lucy's nipple and moved his mouth up to her, the two naked humans devouring each other in a passionate kiss. Gajeel was becoming faster and faster and deeper and deeper; they could both feel it, the inevitable breaking point; the climax creeping out from behind the horizon. They both knew that they would have to release soon, and they knew that after that release they would be hit with an immense sensation of exhaustion.

But that exhaustion would contradict with their plans, their intentions. They didn't intend for this end with one climax; their blood was hot like boiling water and rushing through their veins like river rapids. Gajeel separated his mouth from Lucy's, pressing it against the side of her neck, muffling the roar that he let out as he orgasmed into her, the blonde letting out a cry of pleasure as she could feel his juices enter her whilst her own had escaped, enjoying the pleasurable and relieving sensation that arrived at the release of her orgasm. Fireworks exploded in their heads as their climax lasted, not even the draining feeling of exhaustion could make them feel tired.

Gajeel looked down to his and Lucy's crotch area, his flaccid penis falling out of her vagina as the blood left it, taking away all of its hardness, however in both his and her juices. Gajeel still felt hot, his penis reacting as it already started to become half erect. Gajeel looked up at Lucy, a massive grin on his face.

"You ready for another round, Bunny?" Gajeel purred at the blonde, his half erect organ rubbing against her leg.

"You bet I am." Lucy responded, kissing Gajeel in the heat of the moment. Gajeel kissed Lucy back; neither gave their consensual actions any thoughts, they would be too caught up in their love-making that they wouldn't know if the kiss had actually happened or if it was just a dream. It would be in a moment, when the two started to truly ponder about their relationship and the potential of it becoming further, that they would come to fully realise it. But it didn't matter to them right now, nor would it matter to them for the next few days or weeks. Gajeel pulled Lucy back from the wall, the Dragon Slayer turning Lucy around, the blonde now facing his bed. Gajeel cupped one of Lucy's voluptuous butt cheeks in his hand, the blonde moaning pleasure as his rough hand touch and squeezed the area of her soft skin.

Gajeel was definite that he was already three quarters hard, his hard member was practically squeezing between the two fleshy mounds on Lucy's bottom as he pressed against them. Gajeel gently laid Lucy onto her front on his bed, her beautiful and perfect ass in front of him and ready for him to enter her. The tip of Gajeel's member, once again wet with his juices of erotic pleasure. A whimper-like sound squeaked from Lucy, the blonde looking back at Gajeel, the two Fairy Tail mages silently communicating with each other with their eyes. Lucy nodded at Gajeel, silently answering to him to continue pressing himself in her.

Gajeel thrusted himself into Lucy's anus, her body making a spasm; she had never had sex like this before, the nerves in her anus reacting to strange and new position. It was odd and slightly uncomfortable for Lucy when she did it for the first time, although at least this time she didn't have to suffer the stinging pain that was her cherry popping. Gajeel's bare hands were around her body, most likely to keep her in position, the Dragon Slayer entering further into her. Lucy gripped the bedsheets, moaning in pleasure, even though she couldn't control the small movements of her body; reactions to the currently unusual position she was having with Gajeel.

"Gajeel..." Lucy moaned in pleasure, her moans becoming deeper as Gajeel went further inside her. "Don't stop! Keep going until you release in me again."

Gajeel bent forwards, his entire length inside the blonde as his mouth went to the side of her ear, a rumble emitting from his body. "You don't have to tell me twice, Princess." The Iron Dragon Slayer purred into Lucy's ear, his back becoming upright as he began thrusting into her with great power and speed. Lucy continued to moan, each thrust making a tingle of pleasure race up her spine. She felt high on the sexual pleasure she was feeling from Gajeel, and the Dragon Slayer's own pleasure was causing a similar sensation towards him, continuing to thrust into her until he came inside her, his semen leaking out of her anus slightly.

"That felt so good." Lucy breathed, turning over onto her back, showing her wonderful boobs towards Gajeel again, her nipples still hard and erect. Lucy raised a hand, gesturing Gajeel to come closer to her. And come closer Gajeel did, this is that he mounted over her and kissed her, the blonde kissing back; this kiss was definitely completely lust, unlike the other kiss earlier, which had something deeper than just sexual desire in it. Gajeel's limp penis rubbed against Lucy's entrance, heat warming up their bodies from those genital areas, though they were much less hot and powerful as the last ones, though there was still enough fuel and energy in both of them for one last climax for the night. Lucy smiled at Gajeel as they finished their kiss, the two on the same wavelength. "Do you want one last round, Iron Stud?"

"Aww, I thought you knew me well enough." Gajeel said in faux betrayal, his face almost becoming tight as the grin stretched across his face. "You've hurt and scarred me where it matters the most. I should punish you by fucking what's left of your brains out."

With a pleasured and slightly animalistic growl, Gajeel slid himself into Lucy, the blonde moaning accordingly. That moan of hers was still the sweetest melody to Gajeel's ears, and the Dragon Slayer had an intense love of music that he often kept mostly to himself (at least until joining Fairy Tail, even in Phantom Lord he would do it rarely and pretend that he was drunk or under the influence of a magical spell). Purrs mixed with Gajeel's sexual growls, moans of pleasure roaring out of him as Lucy's already tight walls were squeezing down on his hard member.

In minutes of pleasure that had sadly felt like they only lasted seconds, Gajeel and Lucy had once again developed a powerful, coiling pressure that they became relieved of as they climaxed; Lucy's body relaxed onto her bed whilst Gajeel's body relaxed onto Lucy.

Gajeel wrapped his muscular arms around Lucy and, with the last ounces of his strength, pulled himself and Lucy under the covers, his head resting on the pillow as Lucy's head rested sideways onto his chest. "God... you are too fucking good, Lucy." Gajeel breathed as he kept his arms around the aforementioned Celestial Spirit mage, stroking her long blonde hair. He knew that he'll be sleeping well tonight.

"You're like a monster; you're a beast in battle and in bed." Lucy responded, feeling serene after that divine release of the sexual desire that has been building up within her.

"I strive to be the best I can in everything that I'm passionate about." Gajeel laughed.

Lucy giggled, her eyes slowly closing before shooting wide open just before her eyelids touched. "Wait, what about Lily?" Lucy whispered intensely with worry, looking up at Gajeel with anxious eyes. "What if he heard and smelled us?!"

"Don't worry, Bunny, Lily smelled and heard nothin'." Gajeel responded. "These walls here are strong enough to block out noise an' smell. Lily wouldn't be living here willingly if he could hear and smell every time I had sex with a woman."

Lucy felt relieved upon the information, even though she felt an odd and inexplicable feeling of jealousy for a reason that she didn't understand the meaning behind. Lucy didn't ponder about the feeling of jealousy, mostly because she felt so tired that she could sleep on the hard ground. Gajeel looked up at the ceiling as his head rested on his pillow, the sounds of Lucy's faint snoring acting like a lullaby for Gajeel, as he to had fallen asleep.

* * *

The official building of the Magic Council stood high and tall as it always had since it was rebuilt, this time it was more guarded and secured to ensure that another incident, like when Jackal of the Nine Demon Gates of Tartaros massacred the then standing members of the council, would ever happen again. A black thunder cloud that appeared to be as vast as the sky itself was floating overhead, creating a constant gust of wind and many roars of thunder.

And it was unbeknownst to the Magic Council that two cloaked females were looking at it. Well, at least one of them definitely was.

Theodora looked at the building with glee, knowing that it was also technically the same prison that they sent Dark Mages to when caught. Truth be told, Theodora could probably retrieve her imprisoned members of Wendigo Skull on her own, however she needed the help of the female beside her for another objective. It would be killing two birds with one stone. "Doesn't it look both so beautiful and so disgusting, Mia?" Theodora asked of the woman standing beside her, looking clearly at the Magic Council building, even if her long hair was slightly obscuring it because of the wind. "So tall, it speaks of power and authority whilst also looking like a painting. But the attachment of the name 'Magic Council' almost ruins its beauty completely. Don't you agree?"

Theodora looked back at the woman beside her; she was petite, her small stature and flat chest almost making her look like a little girl. She wore leather gloves and leather boots, her body covered in a leather suit with a small leather skirt attached. She had long, purple hair and heterochromic eyes; her left eye was red whilst her right eye was grey. Her body was surrounded by a cloak that she put over her clothes, flapping in the wind.

"Dimitri... Dimitri!" The other woman, Mia, cried out in alarm. "Where are you, Dimitri? Where are you, Big Brother?!"

"Shh, it's okay Mia." Theodora said in the most calming tone she could muster, holding the smaller woman in an embrace. "Your brother is safe and sound back at Dark Sect."

"O-oh." Mia responded, her face full of shock and confusion. How did she forget where her brother was? "I should go back. B-Big Brother gets worried if he doesn't know where I am."

"I know that your brother is greatly protective of you, Mia, but I greatly need your power." Theodora said, keeping Mia in her embrace to not risk the other Dark Mage escaping and running back to Dark Sect.

"My... power?" Mia said in confusion, looking up at Theodora.

"Yes, your magic. Don't you remember your magic?" Theodora responded. Mia blinked at the red-haired woman with innocent confusion, trying to remember what her magic was. What was it again? Big Brother can control shadows with his magic, but her magic is meant to be different. And if she needed a mage in Shadow Magic then she could just get Big Brother to help, right? Big Brother is stronger than her. Did it have something to do with fire? No, not that. Is it Teleportation Magic? No, not by a mile. Was it...?

Oh yes, it was that...!

"Yes, I remember now." Mia said.

Theodora smiled, letting go of Mia and facing towards the Magic Council again, the ruling body of Magic in Earth Land still none the wiser to her and Mia's presences. "Yes, you see, you're far greater than any other mage of your magic; even Lacrima and Wizard Saint's can be tricked and duped by you. And that is why you are essential for my other plan." Theodora said.

"But... but how can I help?" Mia asked, genuinely curious as to why she would be needed by Theodora. She isn't good at combat, nor is her magic. What use does she have?

"Just listen to everything I say and do it." Theodora answered, looking down at her hand as she made lightning crackle between her fingers.

* * *

 **Author's Note: There, chapter finally done! Damn, this took forever to make (it's just a month, really, but it kinda feels like forever). So yeah, I guess I owe a bit of an explanation. For, you see, I am still in collage, and with summer holiday over I'm back in it and now have much less time to work on this story, particularly on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Although you could say that the amount of time that it took to create this can also be blamed on me writing other stories as well, and the chapter being other 25,000+ words long.**

 **Speaking of which- HOLY SHIT IS THIS CHAPTER LONG! I seriously didn't mean for this chapter to be so long, but it didn't want to end. Anyways, the plot has gone further by at least a little bit, I guess. And I finally got another smut scene in this story, this time being three acts of sex in one going, two of which that I just tried out this chapter.**

 **This story is officially longer than the average novel (providing that the average novel word count is 70,000 - 120,000 words) and I still have a few things planned for it, so this is going to be a really long read.**

 **Reviews are welcome, they help me gaining the desire to write more fanfiction. This isn't a demand, you only have to write a review if you want to, but it would be appreciated nevertheless.**

 **Sayonara.**


	11. Disruptive Morning

One of Gajeel's eyes slid open, the Dragon Slayer seeing sunlight on his wall as it snuck through the spaces in his curtains. It must have been sometime in the morning, though Gajeel still wanted to sleep some more. He felt a soft and warm body press against his own, both bare and pressed against each other. Gajeel looked down at the blonde sleeping in his meaty arms as they kept her locked against his meaty chest, the Dragon Slayer stroking her long blonde hair softly as she stayed in a deep slumber. Lucy made a soft murmur, Gajeel froze in his actions as the naked woman in his arms rolled slightly in his arms, almost like she was going to wake up, before she stopped moving and was fully asleep once more.

Gajeel made a soft sigh of relief, sniffing Lucy's hair, a soft purr escaping him as he smelled Lucy's scent tenfold. Her scent was absolute heaven; a total paradise for his sense of smell. He couldn't get over the smell, he continued to smell that amazing scent over and over again. God, he felt so pathetic to be this in love with a scent, but he accepted it because there wasn't anything else in the world that smelled as good as Lucy. The aforementioned blonde shifted in her sleep once again, Gajeel had to bite his bottom lip to stifle the groan of arousal that threatened to break through from his mouth as the sleeping blonde was unconsciously rubbing her pelvic area against his iron-studded shaft, the organ beginning to grow half hard at the feeling of friction between it and her pussy.

Lucy stopped a snuggled into Gajeel's pecs, the sleeping blonde using the chest muscles as pillows. Gajeel kept his sharp teeth as close to each other as possible to stop any other sounds from escaping, looking up at the ceiling of his room as he continued to hold Lucy. He could just let go of her, but he honestly enjoyed the heat, feel and presence of her body too much. Besides, that would probably wake her up, and Gajeel is not willing to risk any possible wrath that he way have to suffer through.

" _Dammit, when is this goddamn erection gonna go away?!_ " Gajeel mentally yelled as his member refused to become flaccid again, stuck in the annoying boundary between hard and soft. Gajeel had to keep himself as still as possible, trying to not accidently wake Lucy up because of his evil penis. It's made worse by the fact that he can't have some good sex to get rid of the hardness of it, not that he would use it on Lucy while she is asleep; even back in the day when he was in Phantom Lord, when his morality code was a lot lower, that was a certain line that he wouldn't cross. Besides, he can't besmirch the relationship he has with Lucy, he values it too much; it is a great friendship (and nothing more than friendship, he would tell himself) with close intimacy, and that is something that should never be thrown away or lost.

Gajeel's dick had returned to be soft, the Dragon Slayer finally being able to relax as he no longer as to fear poking his friend awake. Gajeel's back had practically melted as his back muscles untensed, a sigh escaping from him as he looked at the beautiful blonde woman that he refused to let go of. The Iron Dragon Slayer's eyelids began to feel heavy; and in one blink of Gajeel's eyes, Lucy was gone. Gajeel's eyes widened in surprise before they began darting around the room, searching for the woman, only to find that she was no longer in the room entirely.

Gajeel scratched his head in confusion, eventually stopping as he came to the conclusion that he must have fallen back to sleep and Lucy must have woken up earlier. That would certainly explain why her clothes have disappeared as well. Gajeel got out of his bed and took out a pair of black boxers from his drawer, putting them on to cover himself before going downstairs.

Panther Lily and Lucy were sitting at the table, eating some fluffy-looking pancakes with syrup for breakfast. Lucy's brown eyes darted towards Gajeel, the blonde being the first to notice him as he stood at the bottom of the staircase (though that could be because she's the only one noticing him), smiling towards him as she was already biting into a pancake. "Hey, Gajeel~." Lucy said to the aforementioned Slayer in a happy, chirpy voice, continuing to give him a bright smile that honestly felt like it could give him the energy to do anything. "You were asleep when I woke up, so I decided to let you keep on sleeping. Lily and I made pancakes, yours are in the kitchen, on the side."

Panther Lily turned around from where he sat and gave Gajeel a little shake of his paw, which was basically a sign of acknowledgement from his Exceed friend. Gajeel grinned as he saw a stack of pancakes on a plate on the kitchen side as he entered the aforementioned room, the stack being taller than Lily (unless he enters his Battle Mode), the Dragon Slayer effortlessly picking up the plate that held the large stack with one hand. Gajeel got a knife and fork out of the cutlery drawer before exiting the kitchen and joining his friends at the table, the two having only two or three more pancakes left.

Gajeel poured syrup onto his pancakes immediately after setting them down on the table, the sweet liquid drizzling onto each cake, from one onto another. The knife that Gajeel took seemed to be pointless as the Dragon Slayer stabbed his fork into the top pancake, shoving it in his mouth and gulping it down whole. Gajeel repeated this with the next pancake, and the next, and the next, and so forth.

Lucy had finished her pancakes and found herself watching Gajeel as he ate the pancakes without even eating them. It was strange that Lucy smiled and found it to be a little cute as Gajeel ate the pancakes in his own unique way, though considering that she used to spend a lot of time with Natsu, who spent his time eating a ton of food in the most uncouth way if he wasn't training or fighting or sleeping, maybe she just found it cute because she didn't have to wipe her own face every ten to fifteen seconds because of food flying onto her face. Lucy began to notice a drizzle of syrup slide down Gajeel's face from the side of his mouth, sliding down to his neck and then to one of his pectorals, the syrup seeming to have slowed down as it made its little journey down the chest muscle, almost like it was trying to tempt or torture the blonde with her libido.

Lucy barely noticed the corners of Gajeel's mouth turn upwards in a smirk, the pec that the syrup was sliding down bouncing up and down, almost making the syrup spring off of him. Lucy's face went red hot, looking away as she could hear Gajeel snicker quietly from behind her now turned head. He probably caught her looking and knew how to play with her hormones. Though she shouldn't be one to judge him for that, since she was practically doing the same thing to him last night. Guess that was really just karma, in the end.

Gajeel finished eating (or more accurately, inhaling) his pancakes, picking up his plate and putting it into the sink. Gajeel then ran upstairs and disappeared behind the bathroom doors, what he was doing didn't matter much to Lily as he looked towards Lucy, the blonde still blushing with a red hot face.

"Hey, you okay, Lucy?" Lily asked as he got onto the table, his natural tiny form putting little weight on the wooden furniture, approaching his friend and putting a paw on her back. He could smell the scent of arousal coming from Lucy when Gajeel purposely flexed his pecs to rile her up, the scent having immensely faded yet remaining lingering.

"God, I'm such a slave to my hormones." Lucy muttered as she refused to look back at Lily, as sense of embarrassment and shame in her voice.

* * *

Lucy was humming merrily as she skipped along the edge of the road, near Magnolia's river, her arms outstretched. She was lost in a reverie of happy thoughts, though she still had a certain level of awareness as she walked along Magnolia's roads. Gajeel and Panther Lily were following behind her, the former keeping his eyes secured on the blonde and her feet, making sure that she wouldn't trip. If Lucy were to fall down, whenever it would be to the road or the river, he would be quick to catch her.

She is a close friend of his and he is willing to protect her. Though sometimes when he thought of her as a friend, he had a feeling in his chest that she might be something more, and he would always repress that thought to the back of his head and the back of his heart.

Lucy's humming was like a melody to Gajeel, a symphony of angelic notes. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, for very obvious reasons, including the suspenders she wore. Gajeel tried to push the thought of those suspenders back, knowing that the memory of her wearing them would only make the blood rush to a specific area where it shouldn't be for the time being. Gajeel just focussed on Lucy and her humming, letting the blonde beauty take him away from reality and to a euphoric reverie.

Lucy turned around to face towards Lily and Gajeel, an adorable and bubbly smile on her face. "Let's go on a mission today." Lucy said, walking backwards on the edge of Magnolia's riverbank, which caused Gajeel to feel nervous. There may be little chance that she will suffer any serious damage, at least if she doesn't fall into the river, but that didn't change the fact that Gajeel's protective instincts were going crazy upon sigh. "Oh, maybe we can go on a mission with Team Dragon Fire, Natsu has been very vocal about wanting to go on a mission with me again, 'just like old times' as he says, and Lisanna has been vocal about wanting to hang out with me again. What do you two think?"

"I think you should stop walkin' backwards 'cause you're making me feel stressful 'bout you falling and hurting yourself." Gajeel responded, letting his opinion out of the closet. Lucy stopped, puffing her cheeks and squinting at Gajeel with slight annoyance before smiling at Gajeel.

"Aww, it's so nice to know that I can bring out the loving, caring and protective softy within you~." Lucy cooed, hugging Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer blushed, gritting his teeth and looking away from the blonde. Gajeel saw Panther Lily floating beside him, giving him and Lucy a keen smile. Gajeel made a light growl of annoyance at his Exceed friend's insistence that there may be something more between Gajeel and Bunny Girl. The Dragon Slayer looked back at Lucy, the blonde laying her head down on his chest whilst her arms were wrapped around his abdomen. A serene smile was on Lucy's face, her eyes closed like she was sleeping. The Celestial Spirit mage was letting out an aura of content as she hugged Gajeel. The Dragon Slayer let out a little sigh as Lucy continued to hug him, though he made no effort to remove her; instead he just patted her on the head, a feeling of calmness in his soul.

Strangely enough, Gajeel was admiring this moment of tranquillity, wishing that this moment of peace could last forever.

A loud explosion echoed throughout Magnolia, coming from over the bank. With wide eyes, the Fairy Tail trio looked to where the explosion came from, seeing a massive and burning flame in the distance, smoke could be seen coming from the flame, and screams could be heard; quiet screams.

"That's the jewellery district!" Lucy exclaimed as she pointed towards the fire, recognising the area where the fire was located, as she had gone to the jewellery district many times in the past. "We gotta go there, people could be hurt."

Lucy didn't wait for a response, already running to the closest road that led towards the district. Gajeel and Panther Lily followed after, the Dragon Slayer slinging Lucy over his shoulder as he caught up with her, running to the district at even higher speeds with Lily not that far behind them.

Gajeel skidded to a stop as they reached the district, putting Lucy back on her feet as they reached their destination. A crowd of people were gathered around the fire as it burned atop a large building, keeping their distance as they watched it burn in horror.

"Shit, we gotta do somethin' about the fire...!" Gajeel said as the red and orange giant continued to sit on the wooden building, slowly consuming it.

"But what can we do?" Lily responded, transforming into his Battle Form and bringing out his Musica Sword in case any dark mages decided to reveal themselves.

"Don't worry, I got this." Lucy responded as she passed her teammates, wearing her Aquarius Star Dress. Lucy outstretched her two hands in front of herself, her palms flat, letting out a hum-like sound as she made a sphere of water appear in front of the palms, the sphere growing and growing until it was bigger than the blonde herself. Using the magic that the Star Dress has bestowed upon her, Lucy lifted the water sphere up towards the sky, making it float above the monstrous fire. With a yell, Lucy focussed her magic into making the water sphere burst, a shower of water that was like rain falling down and extinguishing the flames. Lucy smirked as the burnt building was no longer being destroyed by the fire, looking back at her two teammates and giving them a thumbs up; said teammates being wowed by the blonde's effort, even though they already knew and were certain that she is a strong mage.

Suddenly, a figure shot out of the roof of the once burning building, piece of the roof flying into the air with them. The figure was going upwards into the air before slowing and stopping, and then it began to fall down. Lucy looked up at the figure, its features becoming more clear as it came closer and closer. It was a female with short, white hair; she had green-feathered wings instead of arms and the lower side of her body was completely like that of a bird. Lucy's eyes widened, her blood was as cold as ice water as she recognised who it was.

"Lisanna!" Lucy yelled as the partially transformed Animal Soul mage was plummeting to the ground, unconscious. Lucy began running to the area where the white-haired mage was falling to, but it seemed like she wouldn't be able to get there in time. There was a sudden rush of wind that blew past Lucy, and in a second Gajeel was beneath the falling mage, catching her bridal style. Lucy felt relief permeate throughout her being as Gajeel caught her friend, though she also felt a slight feeling of jealousy towards the way that Gajeel was holding her; envious that she wasn't the one being held like that.

Lucy shook her head from side to side, trying to get rid of these ridiculous feelings, and continued to run towards her friends. "Lisanna, are you okay?!" Lucy asked worried, kneeling down as Gajeel layed the Take Over mage on the ground. Lucy could feel anger burn in her blood as she saw bruises all across Lisanna's body, especially as her arms and bottom half turned back to normal. Whoever did this to Lisanna was going to pay!

Lisanna let out a moaning sound, her face becoming contorted in discomfort before she slowly slid her eyes open. "Huh... wha…?" Lisanna said as she came to, sitting upright abruptly, wincing and grabbing the side of her stomach in pain.

"Lisanna, what happened?" Lucy asked in concern as she knelt closer to Lisanna as Gajeel and Lily watched silently.

"Oh, uh... Lucy!" Lisanna responded as she became aware of her surroundings, hugging her blonde friend, tears crawling out of her closed eyes. "Big Sister Mira and Big Brother Elf and I were walking past here, deciding that we would go to the guild together. Then all of a sudden multiple shops exploded and one large one caught on fire. Mira, Elf and I went into the burning building, in case there was anyone trapped or anyone evil was inside and... There's some really powerful dark sorcerers in there."

"Yeah, we there's some really powerful Fairy Tail sorcerers out here, too." Gajeel said as he passed by Lucy and Lisanna, entering the building with Lily behind. Lisanna watched in silence as the Iron Dragon Slayer entered in without so much as a second thought, reminding the Strauss sibling about her Natsu, albeit a lot more calm.

"You're right." Lucy said, pressing one of her golden keys against her chest, a golden glow of magic surrounding and engulfing her, clearing to show her in her Leo Star Dress. "We're Fairy Tail, we help those in need and stop all mages that use magic in the name of evil. Besides, I'm not letting them get away with hurting Lisanna, and they better not have hurt Mira or Elfman either, if they know what is good for them."

Gajeel grinned at the side of Lucy that was present; strong-willed and willing to fight, almost like a turn on towards him. It didn't help that the Star Dress greatly complimented her body, which was already easy on the eyes. Lisanna was silent as she watched her friends enter walk into the destroyed wall that the building's door was once at, most likely blown away by the attacking mages. She looked down at her fist, even her fingers and hands had little cuts on them from the battle she just lost. But nevertheless, despite the aching pain and exhaustion moving throughout her body, she knew that she would have to help Big Sister Mira and Big Brother Elf.

Well, at least Big Brother Elf; Big Sister Mira is so strong that she probably doesn't need Lisanna's help. But still...

"Wait, you're not going without me." Lisanna said as she got back up onto her feet and ran towards her friends, easily seeing the worry in Lucy's eyes and the disbelief that she could still fight in Gajeel's eyes. "I know that I'm beat up, and I know that I might not be as strong as you two, Gajeel and Lucy, but I'm still a Fairy Tail mage. Hell, I even grew up in Fairy Tail, I was practically _raised_ to never give up and always fight for my friends and family."

Lisanna surrounded herself with a pink magical energy, transforming into her Cat Take Over. "Lis, are you sure? You look pretty wounded to me." Lucy voiced her concerns, holding Lisanna's hand-like paws.

"I'm adamant." Lisanna responded, changing her serious face for a smiling one. Lucy smiled back towards her friend, knowing that all she can do is believe in Lisanna, the two females hugging.

"As heartwarming as it is to watch this moment, this may not be the right time or place for your hug." Lily commented, the two hugging females looking at the muscular cat-like entity. Lucy and Lisanna stopped hugging, blushing in embarrassment that they got caught up in their emotions like that.

The Fairy Tail mages entered in, immediately finding cloaked mages throwing jewellery into bags that looked like potato sacks; from gold watches to diamond rings to pearl necklaces, they were basically throwing in everything they could get their greedy mitts on. The cloaked mages stopped as they heard and sensed the mages, smirks appearing on their faces as they recognised Lisanna.

"Well if it ain't the little chickie that we beat up." One of the cloaked mages said, lightning crackling between his fingers, smirking.

"Oh look, she brought along some friends. How cute." Another said. Gajeel could feel a vein growing on his head in anger; didn't they know that these are _Fairy Tail_ mages they are talking to? What a bunch of cocky idiots.

"This ought to be quick." One of the other mages said, using Requip to make a scythe appear in his hands. The dark mages ran towards the Fairy Tail mages, roaring in readiness for a fight, a quick fight. And a quick fight it was... for Lucy, Gajeel, Panther Lily and Lisanna. And to call it a fight would be an overstatement of the one-sided beatdown that was brought upon the sorcerers of evil.

"Wow, they're less strong than I thought they would be." Lucy said, surrounded by unconscious mages that lain on the floor, the Celestial Spirits Capricorn and Scorpio standing beside her as she had summoned them in the short, one-sided battle.

"You're tellin' me." Gajeel said as he munched down on the swords and other weapons that the dark mages tried to use against him and friends. Gajeel slid an eye over to Lisanna as he was shoving a sword blade into his mouth. "How did they beat you up in the first place?"

"To be fair, I was ambushed and outnumbered by them when Mira told me to get help." Lisanna responded, blushing in embarrassment slightly. "And these aren't the strong ones I was talking about, the others are much stronger."

"Well then, hopefully I can actually get excited for the fight." Gajeel said, having already eaten all of the weapons wielded and summoned by the dark mages.

Lucy sighed at Gajeel's vigorous love for a good fight, though she found herself smiling at him admiringly. Lucy's hand reached for Virgo's key, ready to summon the maid spirit so she can tie up the cloaked mages, but was stopped when a black-gloved hand attached to a tan muscular arm grabbed her wrist softly, the blonde looking up to see Scorpio. The scorpion spirit shook his head from side to side, not smiling but not frowning either, pointing towards the cloaked mages. Lucy looked to where the spirit pointed, seeing that Capricorn was already doing the tying up job she was intending for Virgo.

Lucy couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, she had forgotten that all of her spirits (or at least the ones strong enough to summon themselves) could bring in items from the Celestial Spirit World.

"We should start going further in, there's little we can do to help by remaining here." Panther Lily said, the blade of his Musica Sword being three times the size of his body, the Exceed proceeding to shrink the sword down to its regular small size for practical reasons, like running.

The mages ran further and further in, shortly thereafter seeing a gang of cloaked mages that were facing away from them.

"Geez, talk about unrelenting; this guy won't just collapse and die."

"He probably would have a chance of surviving if he wasn't just standing there protecting their worthless lives. Children of the Light are always so pathetically weak in spirit."

"Ha, he looks like he's trying to intimidate us. His life is completely in _our_ hands."

"I just wonder how much more abuse he takes. Or which comes first; he screams, or he dies."

Lisanna looked with difficulty, managing to see something through the tiny spaces between the dark mages. Her breath was caught in her throat as she saw familiar white hair and a tremendously muscular arm covered in red fur. Without a second thought, Lisanna ran towards the mages, letting out a yell of battle. The cloaked mages only had enough time to look back and let out gasps of surprise and confusion before Lisanna clawed at them, their bodies rolling around the building as they grasped their faces, covered with bleeding scratches of stinging pain.

Lisanna ignored them, preferring to focus on her older brother instead.

Elfman was in his Beast Soul Take Over, the one that he lost control of when he first attempted to Take Over it. He was on his hands and knees, holding gigantic pieces of the building on his back. Underneath Elfman and the building pieces were people, lying down and cowering in fear. They were covered in bruises and scratches that were decorated with dry blood, their clothes covered in holes that must have been resulted by the dark mages.

Elfman, however, was suffering the worst; there were more cuts and bruises around him then Lisanna had ever seen before, his arms, chest and even his face were covered with drying blood that came from his cuts, even one of the horns that he had in this form was broken halfway. His eyes were closed and his teeth were gritted, either him trying to keep the building pieces from falling onto the people, him trying to endure the pain he must be going through, or both. The transformed human slid one of his eyes open, both of his eyes soon become wide as he saw his little sister in front of him, even more injured than when he saw her earlier.

"Lisanna, what are you doing here?! Mira told you to run and get the rest of the guild for help!" Elfman yelled, his blue eyes full of fear, worry and anger. Lisanna could hear footsteps heading towards her at fast speeds, as well as see the reflection of a shadowy figure running towards her in her brother's eye. "Lisanna, watch out!"

Lisanna looked back to see a burly man wielding a scythe, battle intent in his crimson eyes. The man swung the long blade of his scythe towards Lisanna at surprisingly fast speeds for someone of his size, the partially transformed human barely able to evade his attacks, even with the advanced speed given to her from the aforementioned transformation. Lisanna somersaulted over the man, whom didn't take his eyes off her. Lisanna landed on her hands and feet, instantly having to go into multiple acrobatic positions and making acrobatic dodges as the man continued to attempt to strike her with surprisingly swift scythe swings.

"Get away from my little sister!" Elfman roared, punching the guy off guard in the back, sending him flying across the room. Elfman had to put the original hand back down on the ground to stop one of the building pieces resting on his shoulders from falling down onto the still cowering people. The burly man quickly got back up, scythe in hands, glaring at the Strauss siblings. But, before the attacker could do anything, he was kicked in the back of the head by Lucy, her foot surrounded by Regulus magic, knocking him out as he landed on his front.

"Hey, are you two okay?" Lucy asked as Gajeel and Panther Lily began beating up the cloaked mages as they got back up on their feet and prepared to fight again.

"I'm fine, I'm a real man, after all. But we gotta get these people outta here." Elfman said, looking at some of the people as they started to move out from under him, seeing mages that they recognised as good people fighting off the attackers. "They were already here when the dark mages attacked, they were going to either use them as hostages or kill them. I managed to save them, but the dark mages made the roof fall down in an attempt to crush them. I had to stay here and keep the pieces on my back and endure everything they hit me with to protect the people."

The aforementioned people were no longer under Elfman, the Take Over mage finally managing to stand up and let the pieces fall off him. Lisanna was quickly evacuating the people as Gajeel and Lily finished taking down the rest of the dark mages. "Quick, everyone, run." The youngest Strauss sibling said as she got the last of the people out of there. Lisanna then felt a wave of exhaustion overcome her, falling down to her knees as her Take Over became undone, sweat coating her head and arms. Lisanna felt a presence by her side, looking to see her brother back in his normal form, still covered in bruises, cuts and dried blood. "Sorry... I think I used up more magic power than expected."

"Lis, you really need to rest." Elfman warned his sister, sensing her low level of magic power, brought by her constant use throughout the day.

"I know, Big Brother Elf." Lisanna responded. "But what about you? You're covered in cuts and bruises, you look like you should either go to the hospital or get healed by Wendy right away."

"I already told you, I'm a real man. And real men can take any damage." Elfman responded, trying to keep up a charade that he wasn't hurt and sore all over his body, as well as relatively tired himself. Those dark mages had made him their punching bag as he endured all he could to protect those without magic. "Fighting until the end is the manly thing to do."

"And if you keep fightin' while like that, the end will hit ya like a train in a minute or two." Gajeel said, his arms crossed over his chest. Elfman glared at Gajeel, looking like he was ready to transform into his Beast Soul or Weretiger Take Over. Lucy watched the interaction as her still summoned Celestial Spirits were tying up the unconscious mages, tensing up as she feared that something bad could happen. She stepped forward, but was stopped as a muscular arm covered in black fur stretched out in front of her. Lucy looked at Panther Lily, the Exceed shaking his head. Lucy bit her tongue and trusted her friend, looking back at the mages.

Elfman continued to glare at Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer glaring back. "Gajeel, I need you to be a real man and help Mira against the leader of this group of rogue mages." Elfman ordered, like Gajeel had any respect for him. "I'll also be a real man and protect my little sister here."

Lucy watched as Gajeel let out a snicker, a smirk growing on his face as he was probably going to say something. Lucy cleared her throat very loudly and audibly, causing Gajeel to look at her. The Iron Dragon Slayer understood the expression on her face and had thus, reluctantly, decided to say something else instead. "Fine, but Bunny and Lily are coming with me." The long-haired, muscular man said, quickly running off further into the building.

Lucy watched Gajeel's disappearing form, Panther Lily following after him. The blonde looked back at the Strauss siblings, Elfman had an arm wrapped around his little sister protectively, his giant arm being almost as big as Lisanna's entire body. Lucy faced back towards the area that Gajeel and Lily disappeared to, feeling a quick poke against her back. Lucy looked back, seeing Capricorn and Scorpio.

"We're sorry, Lady Lucy, but we must return home." Capricorn said solemnly as he made a small bow, his and Scorpio's bodies lighting up as they began to disappear.

"We wish you the best of luck. And stay wicked!" Scorpio said, doing his usual pose of keeping his index and little finger extended whilst also keeping his middle and ring finger folded before disappearing back to his home dimension.

Lucy nodded, knowing that she still had a few good spirits to summon if they are needed, the mage running after her vanished friends. There was a loud bang up ahead, followed after by an angry yell that sounded like Mirajane when she is transformed into one of her Satan Souls. There was sunlight and fresh air, and soon Lucy realised that she was no longer inside the building; the fight was happening outside.

Lucy saw something fast fly through the air in her peripherals, seeing Mirajane in her regular Satan Soul form. "Evil Explosion!" Mirajane yelled as she pressed her two hands together, firing out a powerful beam of darkness from her palms. Lucy couldn't see who Mirajane was firing towards, the other buildings blocking her view, a giant explosion of dust coming from where she hit.

A hand grabbed Lucy's wrist, pulling her towards a muscular chest. A muscular arm wrapped around Lucy's back, the blonde looking up from the muscular chest to see Gajeel, his red eyes showing a sense of worry. "Geez, Bunny, you got me worried when I didn't find you following after us." Gajeel said towards Lucy as he kept his arm around her. If the look of sincerity in Gajeel's eyes weren't enough to convince Lucy that he is being honest, then the feeling of his heart beating so rapidly against his chest that she could feel it was. "I thought that you got ambushed or something."

Lucy looked at Gajeel in surprise before smiling at him. "Aww, it's always so cute when you become concerned for me." Lucy said, hugging Gajeel, the Dragon Slayer having to turn his head away as his cheeks turned hot from the action. Gajeel slid his eyes up towards Mirajane as she continued to fight the enemy without noticing the presence of her guildmates. There were scratches all along her body, the transformed human taking deep breaths whenever she wasn't aiming an attack towards the unseen attacker or dodging their own projectiles.

There was another thing about Mirajane: her magic power. It still felt tremendous, but on a much lower level than it usually is. It seemed that whoever she is fighting is proving themself to be an apt opponent against her. Or they just found a way to gain an advantage over her.

Either ways...

"Looks like the Demon Barmaid needs our help." Gajeel said, trying to deter from the awkward moment of weird feelings in the chest. Luckily, it was working, as Lucy looked towards the constantly moving image of the flying demon woman, sending out powerful beams of darkness towards her unseen attacker whilst also flying out of the way of immense beams of green magical energy. "For all we know, she could be hanging on a thread."

"We might have to worry about other things than Mira." Lucy responded as she pulled herself out of Gajeel's hold, lighting her hand up with Regulus as more cloaked mages were running towards them, obviously on the side of the attackers. "Regulus Impact!" Lucy yelled, shooting a giant lion head made of light towards the hooded mages, sending them flying, groaning in pain and unable to move as they landed on the ground.

" _Damn, Bunny Girl'll never stop lookin' good as she fights._ " Gajeel thought as he watched his teammate in delight, his euphoric feelings being increased further as Lucy continued to hit her foes with more of her attack, creating a gust of wind that caused her skirt to fly up, revealing some panties that must have been apart of her clothing transformation. The entire sight made Gajeel feel excited. Very excited. In fact, he was so excited that a certain appendage in his lower regions was starting to heat up and react as his blood went there and made his usually loose pants feel uncomfortably tight. It was honestly unwanted, but it was what Gajeel need to snap out of his reverie. Gajeel shook his head from side to side rapidly, slamming his palms against the sides of his face. " _What the fuck am I doing, getting distracted here when Lucy and Lily are fighting? Time to show these bastards why the name Black Steel Gajeel is so feared among those of the magic underworld._ "

Gajeel was circled by multiple other dark mages, throwing away their cloaks and showing what they all look like with their own unique designs. Not that any of it mattered to Gajeel. "You may have defeated the others in the building, but we're much stronger." Said a woman with long, pink hair who was wielding a giant axe with blades that were almost as big as her.

"We have single-handedly taken down hoards of guards, you don't stand a chance against us while we are together." Said a man wearing a metal helmet that obscured all but two circles for his eyes and a straight line for his mouth, his cloak hanging loosely on his shoulders. Water surrounded the masked man's hands, faintly reminding Gajeel of Evangeline back at the battle in the Sorrel Caverns. "Give up right now and we'll make your death quick and excruciatingly painful."

"I bet ten thousand Jewel that this weakling will break apart within ten seconds." A scarlet-eyed woman with purple hair said, slamming her hands together and creating a solid spear made of fire.

"I bet twenty thousand that I can kill him with one spell." A male said, wearing a pair of beige baggy pants and a green jacket, lightning flashing around, a sneer on his face.

Gajeel began laughing, much to the surrounding mages' obvious ire, seething, murderous anger burning in their eyes as it felt like he was mocking them, or trying to defy the simple fact (at least in their hands) that they are far superior to them. "Wow, I know many bad mages tend to get cocky and arrogant, I've even been like that once, but you four are seriously believing that you are stronger than upon meeting me." The Iron Dragon Slayer said, transforming his arm into an Iron Dragon's Sword, the spikes along the blade's edges moving around in fast speeds. "I'll show ya the true power of a Fairy Tail mage."

The two female mages with the giant axe and spear of fire growled at Gajeel, dashing towards the Dragon Slayer with the intent to kill. Gajeel jumped out of the way as soon as their weapons were about to make contact, moving so fast compared to them that it seemed like he just teleported. The haughty mages were left flabbergasted and nonplussed by the Dragon Slayer's disappearing act.

"Lookin' for me?" Gajeel grinned as the still confused mages looked at him, swinging his giant sword, the mere force of his swing upheaving pieces of the road that were in its way, hitting all of the mages that were oh-so confident that they could kill Gajeel easily, all being rendered unconscious from the one attack. Gajeel looked at his transformed arm, surprised by the raw power and force in his arm. His Iron Dragon's Sword spell had always been a powerful and deadly one ever since he learned to use it, but never quite on this level. "Damn, guess that meditation from yesterday gave me more of a boost than expected. I _definitely_ gotta add that to my training. I might even become strong enough to kick Salamander's ass without even having to use my magic."

Gajeel felt heat and magical energy build up behind him, turning around to see three mages with their hands outstretched towards him, a giant red magic circle floating and spinning in front of their hands. "Let's show this little do-gooder our terrifying triple fire combo." One of the mages said. A fireball appeared in front of each of their respective palms, all flying towards the magic circle and becoming an even bigger fireball.

"Prepare to become immolated." Grinned one of the other mages.

"You have no hope!" The third mage virtually laughed. Gajeel had his hands on his hips and huffed in annoyance; dark mages, or at least the goons, are seriously some of the most thick-headed people on the planet. Even Salamander is smarter than them. Well, that can be dubious at times.

"Phoenix Kamikaze!" The three mages yelled in unison, a giant bird made of fire appearing from the magic circle that they created. The bird stood still on its two legs, titling its head and blinking at Gajeel before flying towards him at high speeds, the Dragon Slayer standing still as it came closer, an explosion of fire happening as the 'Phoenix' seemingly made contact with him.

"Ha, _that_ outta have put him out of his misery." One of the mages said as the other two high-fived in self-proclaimed victory.

"Okay. First of all, I ain't no do-gooder." Gajeel said, shocking the fire mages as he suddenly appeared behind them with his arms crossed. One of the mages quickly made a fireball in his hand in an attempt to attack Gajeel, but he was punched in the face by the Iron Dragon Slayer, skidding along the ground as he was knocked out. The two other mages looked at their ally in horror as he left a long mark along the ground, both being hit and knocked out by a swing kick from Gajeel. "Second of all, I've faced fires that are so hot that that is just lukewarm in comparison. If you got a lot of bark, make sure that you have the bite to back it up."

Gajeel turned around seeing that most of what remained of the attackers of the jewellery district were being defeated by Lucy and Panther Lily, some were still trying to fight back, but some of the others were running away; trying to flee from the totally one-sided battle. Gajeel smirked, knowing that they shouldn't leave; after all they had chosen to attack and raid, and who knows what sins they may have attempted in the past. Gajeel turned his arms into iron poles, dashing towards the mages. They noticed, trying to attack Gajeel with their spells and proclaiming that he is no match for them, even though they were plainly running away. Gajeel had either evaded their spells or swatted them away with his iron pole arms.

Despite the number of mages being attack by Gajeel being far more than three, that was still the total number of times that he needed to hit them to render them all unconscious.

There was a loud bang in the air, followed by a scream of pain. Gajeel could hear a loud thud behind him, followed by unsettling sounds of bones crunching slightly. Gajeel turned around, seeing Mirajane lying down in a small crater in the street, still in her demon transformation.

Lucy ran towards Mirajane, skidding down into the crater, sitting on her legs. Mirajane was surrounded by a glow of magic, the S-Class mage turning back to normal. The white-haired woman was lying on her front, pushing herself up, covered in more scratches and bruises.

"Damn beam came out of nowhere...!" Mirajane grumbled, looking like she was on the verge of being livid. The Take Over mage looked up, surprised to see Lucy and Lily standing in front of her. "Oh hi. It's nice to see you two, but we're in a bit of trouble."

"Yeah, the attacking dark mages." Lily said, involuntarily turning back into his regular small form as his transformation time was up. "We were already informed by Lisanna when we came to investigate the explosion."

Mirajane's eyes widened, the mage quickly getting to her feet. "Are Lisanna and Elfman okay?!" Mirajane asked worriedly, grabbing hold of Lily, her protective older sister instincts flaring. They both seemed like they were in rough shape when she last saw them, but she had little time to worry as she was immediately being attacked and having to fight back against the leader of this little incident.

"Lisanna has been very exhausted and Elfman looks like he was just used as a punching bag, but they're overall okay." Lucy answered.

Mirajane felt a feeling of relief, at least to a degree. The specifics that Lucy told her were sticking in her head, but hopefully Wendy can heal them sometime soon. She should have been staying at Fairy Hills last night so she should hopefully still be in Magnolia. Mirajane heard footsteps behind her, seeing a cloaked man with orange hair and green eyes, a wide sneer of his face.

"Your celebrations and reunions can happen in the afterlife, right now is time for your annihilation." He said, immediately firing a laser beam out of his index finger and towards Lucy, hitting the blonde square in the chest. Lucy let out a scream of pain, her body flying off the road, remaining airborne until her back slammed against a building from the force of the attack. Panther Lily growled angrily, the Exceed holding back his Musica Sword as he prepared to swing it at the man that he was flying towards. Gajeel had outright roared, turning both of his arms into swords as he looked like he was ready to dice the leader. The man had only smirked as the two angry members of Team Iron Star closed in on him, using his magic to let out a powerful shockwave.

The shockwave let out an invisible force that pushed Lily and Gajeel back, the ground almost breaking completely form the spells force. Even Mirajane, whom was now a good distance from the man, was pushed back by the force of the attack.

"Just lay down and die, pathetic fairies. My Blast Magic spells absolute destruction towards those that dare to fight me or get in my way." The leader said threateningly, raising a hand in the air, a sphere of magical energy sparking to life, glowing green as it floated above his palm, illuminating the man's face, and his sadistic grin attached to it. "You shall never fathom the power of true magic, weak, little-."

The Blast mage was abruptly cut off as he was hit by a mostly purple blur, his face being slammed against the ground by a foot. He looked up to see the legendary Laxus Dreyar, lightning surrounding the Dragon Slayer's large frame as his eyes were slit and his fangs were elongated. Well, slightly more than usual.

"Don't you _dare_ hurt my little sister _again!_ " Laxus growled angrily, slamming his foot down on the man's face with each word that he spoke, his foot surrounded by sparks of lightning to intensify the power and pain of his kicks to emphasize how serious he was about it. By the time Laxus stopped kicking his face, most of the guy's teeth were scattered around his head, with the few that remained being chipped at the least, with his face being decorated by purple, swollen lumps.

"Can I go... to prison now...?" The man had barely managed to mutter with his swollen jaw, a tear trailing down the side of his face from the immense pain surrounding his entire body, his face obviously having suffered the undisputed worst. He shouldn't have picked the town that was home to Fairy Tail. By the by, he should've just ran as soon as Fairy Tail mages appeared. "Please..."

"That's enough, Laxus." Makarov ordered, the ageing Guild Master walking down the street that Laxus had the man pinned under his foot. "I know that you are mad that he hurt your family, especially the little sister that you are extremely protective of, but he has suffered enough retribution."

Laxus growled, still feeling anger burn in his veins like hot lava. He looked down at the face of the man that started the whole attack, unconscious with the swollen bruises on his face remaining prevalent. The blonde Slayer clenched his fist tight, so tight that it felt like his blood was having a hard time entering the body part, lightning crackling around it. He really want to beat the man further, but that would most likely end up murdering him. As much as Laxus entertained the thought of ending the orange-haired bastard, he knew that his little sister would probably never look at him the same way after that, and her new perspective would most likely be in a more negative light.

Laxus calmed himself down, the aura of magic and lightning around him vanishing as his eyes and canines returned to normal. Laxus ignored Makarov as the old man walked closer to the unconscious man to have a better look at him, the Lightning Dragon Slayer approaching the woman that he and his own dragon have claimed as kin, resting against the building that she was shot towards with Gajeel and Lily at her side.

Lucy's Star Dress vanished in a shimmer of light, her clothes and hair returning to the way they were prior. Even her regular top had a hole through where she was shot, a burnt black mark on the skin of the shot area, though luckily it hadn't pierced into the flesh, keeping it from being anywhere near fatal. Nevertheless it still hurt like a bitch and stung like a group of asshole hornets.

"Hey, Bunny, you okay?" Gajeel asked in concern. When that mage did what he did to Lucy, he felt so mad that he wanted to make the man rue it; do to him what Laxus did. The possibility of hurting passer-by civilians was the only thing stopping Gajeel from unleashing his strongest spell on him. Even then, his sense of logic was barely able to overcome his emotions.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lucy said, reliving Gajeel, Lily and the approaching Laxus. "It hurt like hell and my back now feels like I'm over half a century older after having it slammed into this building, but luckily it didn't blast through me, so I should be fine in a day or two."

"I still think you should go and get a quick check-up with Wendy." Laxus said, stopping in front of Lucy and her teammates. Lucy smiled at Laxus, the bigger blond returning the action as her smile left his heart filled with platonic joy. Laxus squatted in front of Lucy, his arms outstretched for a hug. Lucy got onto her feet and hugged her protective older brother, the two blondes as happy as can be.

Gajeel merely watched Laxus and Lucy hug, a strange feeling within him. He knew there was nothing romantic between them, not only do they see each other as brother and sister but Laxus' pendulum doesn't swing that way. But that didn't change that feeling of melancholy, that he wasn't enough to make her feel happy. Gajeel shook off these feelings as Laxus and Lucy stopped hugging each other, the Celestial Spirit summoner turning back towards Gajeel and Lily, hugging the human and Exceed.

* * *

Dark mages were screaming as they were being waved around by tentacles made of shadows that wrapped tight around them, shaking them around before throwing them away, either to the floor, the walls or the ceilings. The very being that these shadows were coming from being Dimitri, his purple eyes burning with rage. He was on a rampage of sorts, having found out about a particular action done by someone in the same organisation as him. And even though she is ranked higher than him, he'll be damned if he doesn't teach her the consequences.

The Shadow Magic mage's eyes honed in on two mages that were watching everything, still as statues from the fear that was being imposed on them. Dimitri didn't recognise or care for their appearances, but he could sill recognise the guild mark of Wendigo Skull on their skin. If anyone would know where that thunder bitch is hiding, it would be her lackeys, especially as she just got them out of prison.

The two men screamed in terror as Dimitri eyed them with eyes of someone who would murder them without regret. They tried to run away, but tendrils of shadows had already wrapped around their guts and pulled them off the ground, pulling them up close and in front of Dimitri and his glare.

"Where is Theodora?!" Dimitri growled, the shadow beneath him flickering around like a group of angry tentacles. The Wendigo Skull mages had refused to answer, left only whimpering in fear from the intimidating magic power coming off of him. Dimitri had no patience for this. Theodora had taken something that is very important to him, more important than anything else, and even if she planned on returning it he wouldn't let her off the hook so easily. An almost feral growl left Dimitri as he made the tendrils tighten around the two mages, making them focus more on him. "I said, where. The fuck. Is Theodora?"

"Sh-she's in her room!" One of the Wendigo Skull mages in terror, trying to get out of the inescapable grasp of Dmitri's tendrils. It was futile for a weakling like him to even hope to escape. But, he did give Dimitri the information that he wanted to hear, so there was no reason for him to keep hold of them. Dimitri controlled the tendrils to throw away the two mages that belonged to that bitch, his pale form disappearing into his shadow, the aforementioned, seemingly independent area of darkness speeding around the headquarters of Dark Sect, finding the bedroom of one of the Malefic Square.

Dimitri appeared from the shadow, kicking the door open. There sat Theodora and Mia at a round tea table, sitting on comfortable-looking chairs, more of the same chairs around the tea table, occupied by small plush animals. Steam came from the tea, real tea, that sat in the cups, placed down in front of the women and plush animals, little cakes and biscuits sitting on little plates in front of them and on a silver plate in the centre, ready to be taken and eaten at any time. Theodora's room was huge with salmon colours, a large queen-sized bed against the wall, covered with big, fluffy pillows and a ton of other plush animals. The woman's curtains were open, somehow showing a sunny day that let in heat from the sun. Dimitri would have otherwise wondered how she managed to do that, but right now he was too overcome with rage.

Theodora calmly took a sip from her cup of tea, her legs crossed and her other arm resting on the arm of her chair, nonchalant to them angry man in front of her, ignoring his eyes that were like a wild beast as wispy were flowing from him like smoke. Theodora let out a refreshed sound as she removed the cup from her mouth, a little clink happening as she placed the porcelain cup down on a small, porcelain plate that acted as a coaster.

"Ah, Dimitri, so good to see you. I see that you are eating well and have been training on your magic." Theodora said, giving Dimitri a kindly smile. I honestly made Dimitri mad that she was ignoring his blatant anger. "I am currently treating your little sister to some tea. Do you wish to-?"

Theodora was abruptly cut off as Dimitri hooked the right side of her face, her body almost flying off of her chair from how sudden it was, but she managed to stay put. "Don't play so innocent. I know that you took my sister out of the protective confines of this castle, and without _my_ consent or permission, no less!" Dimitri snarled.

Theodora rubbed the side of her face were the shadow mage's fist made contact, looking at him with slight annoyance. "I usually wouldn't tolerate such insolence such as hitting me, however I am in a good mood at the moment." The red-haired woman said with a calm demeanour. "I apologise, but her help was needed. You see, I worked hard to make my guild, and then _she_ came around and left it all in ruin. I didn't want to go through the same time and effort that it took me to create the guild, so I broke them all out of prison, as you've probably seen. Of course I could have done it on my own, as I have, but I needed your sister's help for something specific."

With her last words, Theodora had outstretched her hand towards Mia, the heterochromic female looking at her cup of tea with eyes of an unreadable emotion, blinking without proper thought. It was like she was trying to comprehend the steaming drink in front of her, yet it somehow just didn't apply to her. "And what would you want or need her for?" Dimitri said, a sense of malice still in his eyes and voice, using his Shadow Magic to conjure into existence a big black wolf made of shadows, the creature snarling at Theodora as it stood above Mia, the petite woman not taking any notice to it whatsoever, small, wispy tendrils coming from its body of shadows and surrounding Mia protectively.

"Simple; we both know what Mia's magic is, do we not?" Theodora asked rhetorically. "Well do remember _that_ woman that ruined my guild and defeated me? The one that Evangeline tried to kill at Sorrel."

"Her name's Lucy." Dimitri responded plainly.

"Yes, I _know_ the name of the Light of Fairy Tail, but I'm not calling her by her name. You should never refer to scumbags by name." Theodora responded, keeping an otherwise calm demeanour that was contradicted by the clear hatred in her voice, grabbing hold of her teapot and flawlessly pouring more tea in her cup, possibly thinking that the drink would magically calm her down. "If it isn't obvious yet, I want revenge on her. Whilst I was still in the dungeon, undergoing my punishment, I began to plan my revenge. Instead of attacking and killing her directly from the get-go, I decided that I want her to suffer first. And why not than by targeting someone who is close to her? Mia, dearie, could you please do what you did last night?"

"Hmm?" Mia hummed as she looked up from her cup of tea, still taking no notice of the shadow wolf standing above her. "Was it... tea?"

Theodora sighed. "I said, could you please do what you did last night?" The dark mage repeated.

Mia just blinked in confusion, like Theodora hadn't said anything, the purple-haired woman looking to her side, becoming elated as she saw her older brother. "Dimitri~! Would you like some tea~?" Mia responded happily, lunging at and hugging the man. Dimitri barely even budged, partially because Mia lacked much physical strength. Dimitri smiled down at his little sister, however his smile faltered as Mia's heterochromic eyes suddenly widened in fear. "Dimitri, we must get back home! I-if Mother and Father find out we're not home, they'll... they'll...!"

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Sister." Dimitri said in a calm, comforting tone, pulling his sister's face into his chest and stoking the back of her head softly. "They're no longer with us, we can no longer be hurt by them. We're safe now. And even if they were still alive, I would never let them even go within ten miles near you before... you know."

"Oh... Ooooh yes." Mia responded, slowly moving out of the embrace her brother had her in, sitting back down on her seat.

Theodora made a loud and audible clearing of her throat, causing the two siblings to look at her, a purple pair with anger that, whilst lessened, had continued to remain, and a pair of red and grey that looked at her with utter confusion. "Mia, could you please do what you did back in front of the Magic Council last night?" The crimson-haired woman asked, trying to keep calm.

Mia looked up towards the ceiling, the pad of her index finger hovering over her lips as she tried to remember what it was the Theodora ordered of her. Eventually that lightbulb turned back on, a clear image appearing through her usually foggy bank of memories. Mia extended an arm towards Theodora, her red eye glowing, with even a trace of red appearing in her grey eye as she used her magic. Theodora glowed, her body seemingly changing into a form that was quite different from her own. Though, that form could be recognised as someone else's. Indeed, as they, or more specifically he, is someone who is well renowned across Fiore for a few particular aspects about himself.

"Ah, I think I'm beginning to understand." Dimitri said, the fire in his eyes becoming smaller, though it hadn't yet extinguished. Her past act considered, Theodora could be called lucky that Dimitri no longer wanted to mutilate her. Though he probably wouldn't anyways, there was a sort of gap between their power levels.

Theodora, still seemingly changed into her new form, had grinned at the Shadow mage, her legs crossed. "Yes, it is a nice start to some plans of revenge that I hope to set in motion." Theodora said, her womanly voice remaining in tact, greatly contradicting the appearance of the muscular male she was currently using, once again sipping at her hot tea. "Mia, dear, you can stop now."

Mia didn't react at first, almost like she didn't hear her superior's command, however she had moved her hand away, causing Theodora to resume her usual form. The red glow in Mia's eyes had persisted, however, once again an unreadable emotion was in the globular organs. The plush animals, all slumping down against their chairs, suddenly sat up. They looked around the room they were in curiously, some even managing to blink with their button eyes. One particular plush, a little bear with a red ribbon around its neck, had reached out for a biscuit on the plate in front of it, ripping open its eternally closed mouth; cotton falling before sharp teeth emerged from its lips. The bear bit down into the biscuit, munching away without a care for the eyes, organic and button, watching it.

The other stuffed animals began to follow suit, ripping open their mouths and growing sharp teeth that were as spotless as the cleanest teeth imaginable. After all, everything that was currently happening would have to be imaginable, considering what was causing it.

Mia smiled at the sight before her; of little plush animals eating biscuits and cookies and drinking tea; isn't that what a tea party is about? Wait, is this a tea party? The animals all froze completely, along with the biscuits they were eating and the tea they were drinking, even the crumbs falling off their mouths had stopped falling like time itself had frozen. Mia blinked, pondering more slightly before returning her old focus, time seemingly moving again for the animals and the items they interacted with.

Theodora had her hand hovering over her lips as she giggled at the spectacle in front of her; she was honestly enjoying the sight being presented towards her. "I must say, Dimitri, your sister has certainly developed quite the little imagination. Oh, if only her magic was Arc of Embodiment, that would make things much more interesting." The Wendigo Skull Guild Master said, reaching out a hand towards the nearest plushie, a elephant that was halfway through a snickerdoodle. Theodora's hand passed through the elephant, the plush creature dissipating to reveal that it, the real plush elephant, still sat slumped down on its chair. "Sadly though, we can only change our reality by making illusions."

Dimitri watched in silence, focussed entirely on the products of his sister's products and imagination. It was an odd sight that he usually wouldn't care much, if at all for. But it was made by her, his dear sister, so t was undeniably beautiful to him. The moving images of plush animals, biscuits and tea had once again frozen, this time disappearing as Mia's attention was taken away, the petite woman now looking at the ceiling like she was watching something happening from above.

"Ah, seems like the little illusionist is done." Theodora commented, looking at the plate of biscuits, the little snacks untouched as all the biscuits eaten by the plush animals were also nothing more but untouchable images made by the mind of a girl.

Dimitri grabbed his little sister's hand, gently pulling her off her chair, the Illusion mage now standing next to him as they continued to hold hands. "Still, even though I understand why you have taken my sister, I have yet to see the results."

Theodora laughed in response to Dimitri's words. "Oh trust me, little boy." She said the purple-eyed man. "Those results will come in due time."

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay? You got hurt a lot. Maybe Wendy should heal you some more. I think Wendy should heal you some more." Natsu said as he inspected Lisanna closely, the white-haired mage blushing from how intimately her boyfriend was checking her, as well as the high protectiveness that he was showing for her health. Lucy watched them, smiling (they were doing it in the middle of the guildhall... don't take that out of context). She could honestly berate Natsu for his hypocrisy of worrying for someone else having injuries when he barely gave any care to his own, but she knew well enough that Dragon Slayer's are incredibly protective of those that are their mate or their kin, so she would let it slide.

"Natsu, it's okay. I'm not going to suddenly break apart." Lisanna laughed as Natsu continued to inspect her for every last scratch, bruise and bandage on her. "Honestly, I think if anyone needs another check-up with Porlyusica or healing from Wendy, it would be Big Brother Elf."

Gajeel, who was sitting right next to Lucy and watching the same thing (mostly because their table was next to Natsu and Lisanna's), made a snort of amusement as he heard the white-haired mage. "Yeah, guy looks like he's dressed as a mummy for Halloween." The Iron Dragon Slayer said, taking a swig of his beer. "Surprised he can even stand."

"It's 'cause I'm a real man-Ow!" Elfman responded, almost covered entirely in bandages, the large man having to grab the joint of his arm as it stung with pain from him moving it.

"Being a man has nothing to do with you being an idiot who is recklessly moving his body around when he was told to take it as easy as possible." Evergreen said angrily, the Fairy mage personally making sure Elfman doesn't damage his body even further with his personality. And slapping him whenever he talked about being a real man, she did a lot of that as well.

"You shouldn't even be out of bed, you know." Freed said with icy impassiveness towards Elfman, the green-haired rune mage sitting next to Lucy, from the other side of Gajeel, drinking tea unlike most of his guildmates, who were unsurprisingly drink alcohol. "Porlyusica herself had commented that you're lucky to be alive. She also told you to stay in bed until you are healed."

"A real man never relies on luck. A real man relies on only his two fists and pure strength, because is the _manly_ way to-Ow!" Elfman responded, this time yelling in pain as Evergreen slapped him hard on the cheek, leaving a red handprint that was burning hot for the Take Over mage.

"I swear if I hear you yell out about being a 'man' like a Neanderthal one more time, I'm turning you into stone!" Evergreen yelled, grabbing hold of her glasses to show that she's serious. "I would have even turned you to stone _already_ if it weren't for the fact that it would stop you from healing!"

"Sheesh, someone's on the rag..." Gajeel muttered under his breath, so quiet that it was unheard by Evergreen. Gajeel thought that it was for the better, after all even though he doesn't fear Evergreen in the slightest, he still doesn't want to be turned to stone for God knows how long.

Lucy continued to watch the Fire Dragon Slayer and Take Over mage, the blonde beginning to notice something. "Hey, where's Happy?" Lucy asked, finally noticing the absence of the cheeky cat-like creature.

Natsu had ceased his careful survey of his mate's body, looking at Lucy with his normal eyes of somewhat innocent bliss. "Huh?"

"Happy." Lucy repeated. "Remember? Your Exceed that you and Lisanna had hatched as kids, and the same one you have been looking after since then."

"Oh yeah." Natsu responded, giving off his usual wide grin like there was nothing to worry about. "I don't know where he disappeared off to, but Lis and Mira told me that he would be okay and that he's just getting something for Carla. So, nothing to worry about."

Lucy sighed, if Lisanna and Mirajane are sure that the Exceed is okay, then he must be okay. Lucy had finished off her strawberry milkshake, the blonde walking to the bar to get another. Mirajane was still working at the bar, looking almost completely healed up, barring the little band-aid and the little bruise here and there. She was even humming away with a smile on her face like usual.

"Hey, Mira, can I have another milkshake, please?" Lucy asked kindly, placing her empty glass on the bar counter.

"Of course." Mirajane said, taking the glass.

As the barmaid happily and kindly took the glass, Lucy around at the rest of the bar from where she sat, noticing an unusual absence of a certain brunette. "Hey, Mira, where's Cana?" Lucy asked as the white-haired mage placed the refilled glass of the strawberry milkshake on the counter.

"Oh, she took a really big request that was explicitly for her yesterday." Mira replied casually, wiping the bar counter. That took Lucy by surprise, and it honestly made her feel a little bad because of her desires. Cana did admit that she wanted to spend time with Lucy yesterday before the blonde went to Gajeel's. "It was actually from Queen Hisui herself, officials from Crocus had arrived yesterday a few hours after you left. Apparently Hisui has a friend coming over to the kingdom, and that friend wants to have a few fortunes told. And that friend made Hisui herself want to have some fortunes told. So Cana will be at Crocus for a few days, maybe even weeks. She's probably going to be hitting every bar and liquor store there. The reward is meant to be a few million Jewel, about around half of the prize for the winners of the Grand Magic Games. Hopefully Cana will have enough money left when she comes back to pay off her tab."

Lucy sighed, hoping that she and Cana could have reserved a day together. Maybe she'll just have to wait until Cana comes back. As Lucy walked back to the table that she sat at with Gajeel and Freed (with the later threatening the former about something, most likely her), she noticed Jellal walking in through the guild doors, the S-Class mage holding a bundle of books and maps in his arms, laying them down on a table.

Curiosity had gotten the better of Lucy, the blonde mage approaching Jellal instead of returning to her table with her brother and friend with benefit. The Heavenly Body mage quickly peeked up towards Lucy, his dark green eyes quickly going back down to the map he was scouring, with an open book right next to it, showing an illustration that was similar to the map. "After what happened at the Sorrel Caverns, I have been using every book and map that I have to research a Dark Sect and any sort of news related." Jellal answered calmly, his eyes darting around as he continued to try to find information. "Sadly, I haven't found anything at all. It seems like Dark Sect is the epitome of being elusive; it would be easier to find a needle in a haystack the size of an ocean."

"Isn't there like a mage in Sabertooth that can remember anything?" Gajeel asked, suddenly appearing beside Lucy, shocking Lucy and almost leaving her with a heart attack. "Wasn't his name Rufus or something? Can't we just borrow him and have him memorize the information and all that?"

"It would be pointless to have an impeccable memory when there is nothing to remember." Jellal responded, sounding slightly annoyed and snappy as he spoke. The blue-haired mage then sighed deeply and rubbed his hand over his face. "I'm sorry, I'm just really tired. I was up until the morning trying to research about this elusive group and I didn't get much sleep because the sun woke me up."

"What is this commotion about?" Freed asked, noticing how something seemed to be slightly off.

"During our time at the Sorrel Caverns, we fought against a dark guild called Siren Fin." Erza explained, the red-haired S-Class mage holding two plates in her hands, one holding her usual strawberry cheesecake slice while the other had a blueberry crepe with powdered sugar over it and the blueberries, placing them both down onto the table that Jellal was sitting on, the armoured mage sitting beside her boyfriend. "The guild master wanted to kill Lucy because she had defeated someone that she worked with. She kept on mentioning a 'Dark Sect', some sort of invincible organisation of dark mages. Jellal has been working hard to find them, but they have keeping all of their tracks clean."

"Wait, the guild master tried to do _what?!_ " Freed outburst, his right eye gaining a darker colour as Dark Magic brought upon by his Rune Magic had flared around him.

"It's alright, I saved Bunny Girl and we got to kick that Aqua Bitch's ass. Though she managed to get away, but we can just beat her up again." Gajeel said calmly as Lucy had a hand on Freed's shoulder, the blonde mage calming down the protective older mage. Gajeel turned back towards Jellal, the blue-haired mage eating his crepe. "So, Oberon, thinkin' on finding out another way to find where Aqua and Thunder bitch are hidin'?"

"I'm just going to have to throw in the towel and wait until we meet them again to understand them." Jellal said, the Heavenly Body mage biting back into his crepe.

There was a knock at the guild's front door. Lisanna, being the nearest to the door, opened it to find what looked like an army of Rune Knights outside with what looked like a captain. She was a tall female with medium breasts, wearing the usual garb that captains at the Magic Council wear. Her blonde hair was short, with the only exception being the two pigtails on the sides, long and shaped like a chain. She had emerald eyes that held a stern glare behind her glasses.

"I am Veronica, the Head Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit of the new Magic Council." The woman, Veronica, explained flatly in a monotone voice. "The attacking dark mages have all been taken off to prison, but we are not done here yet."

"Natsu! What did you do this time?!" Erza yelled at the Fire Dragon Slayer, the Requip mage almost becoming used to the complaints that came from his destructive attitude.

"I-I didn't do anything at all, I promise!" Natsu responded, taking a scared and somewhat defensive position as the scarlet-haired mage glared at him with her brown eyes.

"Believe it or not, the Salamander is speaking the truth." Veronica said as she stepped into the guild with some of her Rune Knights following after her. She simply stood there, not even her knights were doing anything but standing still. "We're here to arrest someone that has committed a reprehensible crime."

"Hey, Jellal had been officially pardoned by the Queen, you can't just go and arrest him." Gray yelled, the ice mage slamming his fists together as he prepared his magic, the only thing stopping him being Juvia as she grabbed his bare arms.

Veronica didn't react to the ice mage, even as he was only in his boxers, only sparring him a quick glance before returning to her earlier act. "We have no intentions of capturing Jellal, the pardoning of all of Crime Sorcière is The Queen's official word. We seek..." The woman had responded, her green eyes widening angrily as she spotted a blond-haired Dragon Slayer sitting at the guild bar, pointing her finger towards him. "You!"

"Huuuh…?" Laxus responded rather drunkenly as he had already had a few mugs of booze, the Lightning mage looking up at the random Magic Council member.

"Laxus Dreyar, you are under arrest for attacking the Magic Council and releasing over a hundred criminals!" Veronica yelled, her once monotone voice filled with rage. All of Fairy Tail was left surprised and dumbstruck by her words.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hello there, was the wait for over a month worth it? There's a bit of a gradual increase in plot, some stuff are revealed n' all that. The long wait of this chapter can be accounted to a Lucy x Harem fanfic ('cause honestly we can never have enough of those) that I won't even begin uploading until spring, since the story kind of takes place in spring. And there is also another story which is completely unrelated to Fairy Tail and has been on my little writing list 'cause I can't stop myself from writing it... unless if my muse is feeling lazy and I'm lucky for even a little bit of progress.**

 **Anyways Halloween has just passed and when I got home from collage (as far as I'm sure, you don't go and live in a dorm in the UK... then again I can be dumb at times) I mostly just watched a horror movie with my mum and ate some popcorn and sweets.** **This chapter took longer than necessary to arrive because of procrastination and whatnot.**

 **Reviews, even ones of constructive criticism, are accepted and appreciated.**


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